A woman kills her ex-landlord with a hammer

• Xiu Fang Ke, 43, was arrested and arraigned on a murder charge Wednesday.
• Ke allegedly beat her former landlord to death with a hammer and wrapped his body in a curtain.
• Ke had been forging checks in his name and stealing over $40,000, officials said.

A Massachusetts woman allegedly beat her former landlord to death with a hammer and wrapped his body in a curtain after he discovered she was forging checks in his name and stealing over $40,000 from him.

The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office said in a statement Wednesday that Xiu Fang Ke, 43, of Newton, was arrested and arraigned on a murder charge Wednesday in connection with the death of her former landlord Leonard Garber, 65.

Garber’s family reported him missing on Monday, and Newton police officers went to his home to conduct a wellness check but were unable to locate him. On Tuesday, police made two subsequent visits to his home and discovered his body.

According to the release, the body was discovered wrapped in a curtain among construction materials and other heavy items.

“Based on preliminary findings, it appears that the body was there for more than one day and was placed in such a way as to conceal it,” officials said.

Garber and Ke had been spending time together and Ke had “allegedly been forging checks from the victim’s accounts,” stealing more than $40,000, according to the release.

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When Garber discovered the theft, he confronted Ke, who “allegedly struck and killed him and then attempted to hide the body.”

Police searched financial records and surveillance footage from Garber’s home, which revealed an Asian female, later identified as Ke, entering his home in the days before his body was discovered.

Prosecutors claim Ke was a tenant of Garber’s at a different property several years ago, not the one where the attack occurred. Ke allegedly confessed to the killing after being summoned to police headquarters, claiming she used a hammer in the attack.

“During the interview, the defendant admitted to stealing checks from Leonard Garber and killing him,” Assistant District Attorney Julie Kunkel said in court Wednesday. “She later stated that she used a hammer and hid his body in the location where police eventually discovered it.”

Prosecutors also claimed there was evidence she had previously stolen checks and owed debts.

“The defendant admitted on a group chat that she had stolen the money, that she owed gambling debts, and that she wanted to end her own life,” Kunkel said in court.

On Wednesday, Ke was ordered held without bail. It’s unclear whether she has a lawyer.

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