Woman accused of killing stepdaughter

Police have detained a woman accused of killing her stepdaughter in Gongan county, Hubei province, according to a statement on Saturday.

The suspect, identified only as Zhong, 36, is accused of killing 14-year-old Zeng, a middle school student, on March 24, in Zhangzhuangpu.

Police said in a statement that Zhong confessed to the crime during an interrogation and that the county procuratorate authorized her detention on Saturday.

Contacted by China Daily on Sunday, officers declined to disclose a motive for the killing, nor did they say how the girl died.

Shanghai-based news website thepaper.cn quoted the family's neighbors as saying she was stabbed several times while sleeping.

The girl wrote an essay that was published in a school magazine late last year in which she described how she secretly saved pocket money to buy a birthday cake for her father.

"My father is an ordinary farmer. He picks up odd jobs on nearby construction sites after finishing his farm work. He is busy year-round to support our seemingly complete home," Zeng wrote.

The girl said her stepmother, who controlled the family, was tight with money and ignored her father's birthday, which made her unhappy.

She also said the woman "disliked her", was "mean" to her and showed partiality to her 4-year-old half brother.

Liu Kun and Jiang Chenglong contributed to this story.