00:00AL, we have been talking about Leon Ling as the killer because it is his room and his trunk, but we have to look at the third man theory. We have to look at Chu Hing.
00:08Chu Hing is the forgotten suitor in this tragedy. He was a wealthy merchant, a man of standing in Chinatown, and he was also deeply obsessed with Elsie. Some reports suggest he even proposed to her and had been rejected.
00:21Now think about the crime scene. If you are Leon Ling and you kill your lover, do you put her in a trunk in your own room? Do you tie it up with a cord and leave it there for 10 days while the June heat does its work? And most importantly, do you leave 35 cases of love letters addressed to you right next to the body?
00:37It doesn't add up. It is almost too perfect. The third man's theory suggests that Chu Hing, either out of jealousy or to eliminate a business rival, killed Elsie elsewhere, transported the body to Leon's room, and planted the letters to ensure Leon would be hunted by the mob.
00:53It is the ultimate setup. In the chaos of 1909, Chu Hing knew the police would not look for a complicated truth. They would look for the easiest target. By the time anyone questioned the third man, Leon Ling was gone, and the case was functionally closed in the eyes of the public.
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