Police say the suspect, surnamed He, killed Cheng in a fit of jealousy and dumped the body in Yuhang District in Hangzhou. At the time of the murder, police found three playing cards, the Five of Spades, King of Spades and Jack of Diamonds. In search of information from the public, police published details of the murder and the cards online, leading to widespread speculation that the murderer was a serial killer with a poker obsession.

According to China Daily, police received almost 2,000 pieces of information daily from online sleuths and other interested parties. But, in his testimony to policy, He said the poker cards fell in with the body purely by accident.

Police said He met Cheng on an unnamed online game site in December and the pair became lovers shortly after. However, Cheng kept in contact with another man which sent He into a jealous rage. After killing her, he hid her body in a cardboard box sealed with tape, but had no idea the cards would fall in with her or that they’d cause media headlines.

“I saw the media reports after the discovery of the body. I remembered that the poker cards were in the drawer. Since I hit her with the drawer, the cards must have fallen at that time or she grabbed them during our fight,” He told police. “I was nervous after I killed her. I wrapped her in a quilt and put her in the box.”

In the end, the poker cards turned out to be a red herring. As China.org reports, police apprehended the man after receiving information from a supermarket owner who said a man with He’s description had bought tape in his shop recently.