Parents of Murdered Couple Appeal for Help in Internet Gambling Scam Case

Xi Zhou and Zhen Xing Yang, both 25, were found dead in separate bedrooms of the flat they shared in 8 Croydon Road in the west end of Newcastle on August 9, victims in what authorities have been calling an "Internet gambling scam" case.

Det Supt Wade told The Guardian police are still keeping an open mind and are continuing to investigate links with online gambling and said it was possible that the murderers believed the pair to have money due to their involvement with betting scams.

The motive has shifted more towards robbery.

Shu Zhen Qu, the mother of Zhen Xing Yang and Sanbao Zhou, the father of Xi Zhou arrived in the UK on Sunday, along with other family members, and have been looked after by family liaison officers.

A private funeral service was held on Wednesday, September 17, at a local crematorium by a Chinese pastor and the families intend to bring the ashes back to China in the next few days for a funeral service in their homeland.

"When we were informed of the death of our daughter we almost lost the will to live however we cannot do that as the murderer is still at large," Mr. Zhou said speaking through an interpreter.

Chinese sources in Newcastle initially told The Times of London that Yang Zhen Xing, 25, had placed advertisements on UK-based Chinese-language websites to recruit people to watch and report on football matches around the world just prior to his murder on August 9.

Police said Mr Zhen,25, was "assaulted for more than an hour" before being stabbed. They believe passers-by may have heard his screams.

Examinations also showed Miss Xi may have been asphyxiated as well as stabbed during the attack. A cat was also found drowned to death in a water basin.

Detectives, aided by Scotland Yards, had been exploring the theory that a major criminal network might have sanctioned a double hit rather than the murders being the result of a local dispute, that paper reported on Sunday.

One line of inquiry involves claims Mr Zhen recruited spectators online to send live updates from UK football matches, according to a BBC report.

It is claimed syndicates in China, where matches are televised a minute behind, could take advantage of this.