After finding pieces of model and influencer Abby Choi’s dismembered body in a rental property in the city’s north, police in Hong Kong said they have detained her ex-husband.
Police say that Choi, 28, who went missing on Wednesday, was found in parts along with a meat slicer, an electric saw, and some clothing at the Tai Po apartment on Friday afternoon. Choi was reported missing on Wednesday.
At a news conference on Saturday, police superintendent Alan Chung announced that the model’s ex-husband had been detained after being arrested while attempting to flee at a port in Tung Chung, on one of the city’s outer islands, Lantau.
Police thought at the time of his detention that he had meant to flee via water transport according to Superintendent Chung.
As authorities look for Choi’s remaining body parts, the ex-husband, his brother, and his parents—all of whom were detained on Friday—are being kept for questioning.
Choi had not been seen since the previous day when she was reported missing on Wednesday.
According to the police, the investigation is still ongoing, including into the death’s cause.
On Saturday, more than 100 police officers—including a diving team—were dispatched to the nearby catchwater to search the Tseung Kwan O Chinese Permanent Cemetery.
Choi had received exposure on a global scale as a model and was most recently seen being photographed at the Elie Saab Spring Summer 2023 Haute Couture show in Paris, France. She has recently served as the digital cover model for the premium magazine L’Officiel Monaco and attended this year’s Paris Fashion Week.
A social media influencer, Choi has approximately 100,000 followers on Instagram, where she posts pictures of herself posing with various luxury brands in cities like Shanghai, London, and Paris as well as on yachts in Hong Kong. In her bio she writes that she’s “embracing every moment in life.”
According to authorities, Choi’s ex-husband left behind a boy and a daughter, who would be cared for by the model’s mother.
