Five New York men are facing federal charges for allegedly kidnapping and killing a man and then dumping his body in a New Hampshire forest.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the FBI and New York City Police announced Wednesday that 28-year-old Donxing Zheng, 29-year-old Wangchao He, 22-year-old Jiangnan Lin, 35-year-old Dong Liu and 22-year-old Sui Zhang had been indicted for kidnapping resulting in the death of Peng Cheng Li, kidnapping conspiracy and conspiring to distribute ketamine.
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Zheng was arrested on July 31 and will be arraigned at a later date, while the other four suspects were arrested and made their initial court appearances on Wednesday.
According to court documents, the five suspects called a restaurant where Li worked on July 19 to lure him to a location in Queens.
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When Li arrived at the location, the five suspects and others abducted, assaulted and held him for ransom. At some point after that, prosecutors say Zheng and others drove Li through Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester County.
At some point after he was abducted, prosecutors say Li was beaten to death, and Zheng and others buried his body in a forest in New Hampshire. Court documents do not say where in New Hampshire his body was dumped, or why New Hampshire was selected.
“These five defendants deprived the victim Peng Cheng Li of his freedom and ultimately his life when they allegedly kidnapped, assaulted, and murdered him in a failed attempt to collect a payment. This type of barbaric behavior has no place in our society and will not be tolerated. The FBI will be sure that anyone attempting to use violence to make money will be brought to justice," James Smith, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York office said in a statement.
The Caroll, New Hampshire, Police Department said in a Facebook post on Friday morning that the investigation was connected to its town.
"For those who had previously inquired with us about the large law enforcement presence this fall, here is some information," the department said, linking to a story about the case.
If convicted, the suspects could face life in prison.
