Zhongming (James) Mou pled guilty on Tuesday morning to the 2011 death of his wife, Yating (Lancy) Yu.
According to a Tweet from Sgt. Jennifer Pound of the RCMP's integrated homicide investigation team, Mou pled guilty to second degree murder and the case was "another demanding investigation for IHIT with a successful outcome."
Yu's case goes back to July 15, 2011, when she went missing. According to a statement from Mou to police, he dropped her off at her Burnaby apartment at about 8 p.m.
He later changed his story, telling investigators his wife had stayed at the family's Coquitlam residence, in the 2800 block of Nash Drive, that night. She then left on her own the next morning at about 5:30 a.m., he said.
In a rarely seen move, police also announced in August 2011 that Yu's missing person's case was being taken over by IHIT. At that point, no body had been found.
Police also brought in Yu's parents from China to make an emotional appeal to anybody who might know where their daughter was.
Hu's emotional father, Hu Nu Ming, a police officer in China, said it was totally out of character for his daughter not to keep in touch.
He also revealed that the couple, who were married in 2003, had a separation agreement and his daughter was seeking a divorce.
"She was a victim of domestic dispute a couple of times," Ming said through an interpreter.
Ming said Hu, a loving mother to two boys, aged two and three, would never leave her children.
"She loved the kids very much, and there is no way she would leave the kids," he said.
Hu's mother, Xiao Yaw Yu Yan Yu, pleaded for her daughter's safe return.
"The kids miss her very much," she said. "Please come back."
The parents, who arrived from China shortly after Hu's disappearance, went to their daughter's Burnaby apartment and said it appeared their daughter had been planning meals in advance.
"There were lots of groceries in the house, and we don't believe she left on her own," Ming said. "Something else happened."
That something became apparent in September 2011, when the RCMP put out a press release updating the public on their investigation.
On Aug. 27, 2011, Hu's body was recovered from the Fraser River near the west end of Steveston in Richmond. An autopsy was conducted and Hu's death was ruled foul play.
Mou, 35 at the time, was charged with first-degree murder, but he pled guilty to second-degree murder on Oct. 9, 2012.
