Suspect admits killing Chinese student in US

The suspect in the fatal shooting of a Chinese overseas student has confessed to the slaying, which was the culmination of an interstate crime spree, according to University of Utah police.

Austin Jeffrey Boutain, 24, admitted shooting Guo Chenwei, 23, of Beijing during a carjacking on Red Butte Canyon Road near the university campus on Monday night.

Boutain fatally shot Guo and then tried to take a woman who was with Guo, a university student whose name was not released, into a canyon, according to police. The woman escaped when Boutain was distracted, said police, who added that he fired at her twice and missed.

"Obviously, he had just killed somebody; he had an ill intent toward this young lady," University of Utah Police Chief Dale Brophy told reporters.

After the shooting, Boutain made his way into downtown Salt Lake City, police said.

He left a handgun, believed to be the weapon used to shoot Guo, at a homeless shelter where it was stolen, police said.

Police are trying to find the weapon, which they believe was taken from the Colorado home of 63-year-old homicide victim Mitchell Bradford Ingle, whose body was found last week.

Boutain was arrested on Tuesday at a library in Salt Lake City after a librarian recognized him.

On Wednesday, police from Golden, Colorado, named Boutain and his wife the sole suspects in Ingle's slaying.

On Tuesday, police found Ingle dead inside an RV trailer after Utah authorities contacted them in connection with Guo's shooting.

The Boutains apparently killed Ingle and then drove his pickup truck to Utah, where they gave it away, police said. Police said Austin Boutain admitted to stealing three guns from a home in Colorado, one of which was a rifle recovered by police.

Investigators plan to recommend that Colorado prosecutors file charges against the Boutains including first-degree murder, robbery and vehicle theft in Ingle's death. Kathleen Boutain was in custody in Utah on unrelated drug and theft charges.

Criminal history

News outlets in Alabama and Ohio reported that Austin Boutain's criminal history includes charges for public disturbances, theft, evading police, drugs and a sex offense. He is also accused of assaulting and injuring his wife with a firearm.

Guo arrived in the US in 2012 and would have turned 24 on Sunday.

The University of Utah posted on its Twitter account a recent picture of Guo, a pre-computer science major, and said the university community was heartbroken over his death.

The university canceled classes on Tuesday and lowered flags to half-staff on Wednesday in Guo's memory.

Lori McDonald, dean of students, described him as "extremely outgoing, charming, creative, smart". Guo, who had dreamed of owning a consulting company, was also was a peer adviser in the International Student and Scholar Services Office.

AP and Reuters contributed to this story.

lindadeng@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily 11/03/2017 page11)