Missing schoolboy died by suicide – Police

A schoolboy, who went missing and was later found dead, committed suicide, local police said on Thursday at a news conference held in east China’s Jiangxi Province.

The student of Zhiyuan High School in Jiangxi, surnamed Hu, went missing on Oct. 14, 2022, and was found dead on Jan. 28.

Investigations into the case showed that the boy died by hanging himself, said Hu Mansong, Deputy Head of the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Public Security.

Local police and a joint task force conducted investigations, interviews, a postmortem examination, as well as the examination and identification of physical evidence under the on-site guidance of domestic authoritative crime scene technicians, before confirming the boy’s cause of death, Hu Mansong said.

The investigation indicated that the location of the body was the same place where the suicide happened, said Hu Mansong, who added that there were no signs of a fight or dragging at the scene.

He also said that a pen voice recorder which belonged to the boy was found at the scene and submitted to the Ministry of Public Security for analysis.

He said that the boy clearly expressed suicidal intentions in two audio files.

According to him, analysis showed that the audio files were not artificially synthesised or altered.

The official said that psychology experts found that the boy was introverted and mild in nature, showed an inclination to solitude and cared about the opinions of others.

He also said that the investigations revealed that  the boy lacked emotional support and channels for venting emotions.

Following his admission to Zhiyuan High School, the boy experienced psychological imbalances due to dissatisfying grades and socialising and adolescent stress, he said.

This caused him to develop physical and emotional disorders, which eventually gave rise to suicidal tendencies, he added.