Investigation over a serial murder of 13 women has been almost completed in Heze City, east China's Shandong Province, local police announced on Friday.

The 13 women, aged 16 to 42, had worked in local restaurants and kara-ok bars before they were choked to death, the police said.

Two female bodies were dug out from a well at Weizhuang village of Heze early November, leading to the arrest of four suspects on Nov. 13, according to the police bureau of the city.

Panic started among villagers as police went on to dig out 11 women bodies in a row in the five nearby villages during the past month. All were allegedly killed and buried by the suspects, the police said.

The 13 victims were buried below river banks in Heze's remote villages during the first six months of this year, they said.

The suspects were arrested in a rented house of Datun over villager's information, the police said.

In Datun, villagers declined to talk more about the case but have resumed normal daily activities. "Two weeks ago, I didn't allow kids to go to school alone and demand them to stay home at night," said a villager who asked not to be identified. He said life now is back to normal.

The four suspects were local residents without work. They tried to get close with service girls in restaurants and bars, taking them dinner and giving them gifts, before attacking them, the police said.

The suspects robbed about 10,000 yuan (1,233 U.S.dollar) from girls they murdered, the police said, adding that money was believed to be a major motive.

Police said they were still checking on the details of the case, and have enhanced the surveillance over entertainment venues in the city.

Source: Xinhua