Police in Jiangsu Province finally caught up with a man and a mentally-challenged woman suspected of robbing over 200 graves of smartphones and jewelry left for the deceased, media reported Tuesday.
Wang Jin (pseudonym), 64, was detained on December 22 along with 46-year-old Zhang Qian (pseudonym), who he claimed had taught him how to raid tombs and helped boost his courage during their nighttime graveyard robberies.
Zhang also demanded little in return. "[Zhang came] mostly because I was scared, and she didn't really want anything as payment except the cigarettes we stole," Wang told police.
Zhang, who has a disability, has since been released to her family, local media reported.
Huaian police said the long string of grave robberies began last October.
"We were unable to identify the suspects due to the lack of surveillance cameras in rural areas," said officer Pan Mingxiang.
But following a report of over 20 robbed graves in a single village in December, police were able to narrow their search to a mentally challenged woman.
Zhang was identified and taken into custody. She was found to be wearing two silver bracelets that had been stolen from one of the graves.
Under questioning, Zhang implicated Wang as her partner, who was arrested shortly after.
While the pair mostly stole coins and cigarettes left as offerings, they occasionally took jewelry and other valuables, sometimes destroying graves and knocking over urns in the process, said Pan.
