Jilin man confesses to killing missing baby boy, police say

A two-day manhunt for a baby boy and the man who kidnapped him ended last night after the suspect turned himself in and admitted choking the baby to death, Jilin police said.

Zhou Xijun, a 48-year-old native of the northeastern province, surrendered to police in Changchun at around 5pm yesterday and confessed to killing the two-month-old after stealing his father's SUV, in which he had left the baby, according to a post on the police's official microblog account.

Zhou said he did not realise there was a baby in the back seat until he made it onto a highway and the boy started to cry.

A search for Xu Haobo's remains was continuing last night after Zhou told police he buried the body in the snow somewhere along a road in Yongfa township, Gongzhuling city, about 60 kilometres from Changchun where the SUV was stolen.

The boy's father said he left the infant inside the grey Toyota RAV4 on Monday morning as he arrived for work at a convenience store in the city's Luyuan district. The father said he left the doors unlocked and the engine running to keep the child warm while he turned up the store's heat.

Many of the millions who had anxiously watched the dramatic search unfold were devastated by its violent outcome.