A 13-year-old teenager who is suspected of brutally murdering three children aged 4, 7, and 8 is now in custody after being caught in south China’s Guangdong province.

According to People's China Daily, the teenage suspect had fled from his hometown on July 18 after committing the murder. Over 100 police officers and more villagers were mobilized to track him down.

Five days after the bodies of the three victims were found, the suspect, surnamed Shen, was later spotted by villagers some 140 kilometers away from his home.

The 13-year-old told police he had left home on July 9 after being scolded by his father. He then
roamed around till July 18, when he went to the village the three victims lived in.

Seeing no adults around, he took the three kids out and asked them to tell him the whereabouts of the money and valuables in their home.
However, Shen did not get the information he wanted. Fearing the kids would tell their parents about his conducts, Shen then killed the three children with rocks and knife.

Shen then went to the three victims’ house. The victims’ father, not knowing the fates of his own children, took out food to host Shen, before going out to look for his three kids.

The suspect said he had always been loitering away from home on and off since he was six-year-old. That explained why he could survive in the wild while on the run after the murder.

He managed to steal two bicycles, money, and food all the way through the 140 kilometers and fled to another province until he was spotted and caught.