Taiwan man, 26, charged with rape & murder of teacher, 29, who rejected him

A 26-year-old man accused of killing a 29-year-old teacher in Taiwan's Hualien county has been charged with multiple offences, including rape and murder.

On May 17, 2025, the body of the teacher, surnamed Tsai, was found in a rental room of a church dormitory where she had been living in since 2024, Taipei Times reported.

Members of the church were alerted when a message was sent to their chat group from Tsai's phone, saying "a female teacher was murdered".

Her neck bore visible signs of strangulation, her pants were partially pulled down, and she suffered a blunt force wound to the head, according to EBC News.

After checking CCTV footage, the police identified a man, surnamed Liu, as a potential suspect, TVBS News reported.

They also learnt that Liu had allegedly pursued and sexually harassed the victim previously.

The next day, the police arrived in time to arrest Liu while he was attempting to hang himself in the woods, Taipei Times reported.

Investigations

The prosecution concluded their investigation into the incident and brought the case to court on Sep. 4.

During questioning, Liu had confessed to the murder, but denied sexually assaulting Tsai, TVBS News reported.

However, the prosecution found that he had allegedly broken into Tsai's room on the evening of May 16 and raped her while she struggled and fought to resist him.

He then allegedly strangled her to death with his bare hands.

He also allegedly stole several of Tsai's belongings including her phone, tablet, and laptop as he left.

The next morning on May 17, Liu washed his clothes in an apparent attempt to get rid of evidence, according to TVBS News.

The prosecution is making their case that Liu is guilty of trespassing, murder, sexual assault with an intent of murder, robbery, and more.

Mute and emotionally unstable

According to Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA), when the police first arrested Liu, they shared that he was mute and was brought up by his grandparents.

Allegedly emotionally unstable, he had previously assaulted his grandmother, the police said.

The grandmother did not report the incident, but the police learnt about it through interviews with social welfare agencies.

Liu was a member of the church, and he and Tsai met through church activities, according to ETtoday.

He allegedly expressed his feelings for Tsai multiple times and harassed her over messages.

He was also allegedly upset when Tsai rejected his advances and eventually blocked him on the social messaging app LINE.

It is believed that her rejections drove him to commit the offences.

Tsai, who had left her hometown in Tainan county to teach in Hualien in August 2024, was described by her school's principal as a very dedicated and excellent educator, Taipei Times reported.

Her students cried when they heard about her death, according to TVBS News.

Top images from Google Maps and EBC News