A 24-year-old Chinese student has been charged for killing his 20-year-old girlfriend last year in the United States, authorities said.

According to the Wenzhou City Peoples Procuratorate, Li Xiangnan, a resident of Zhejiang Province, was charged with the killing of Shao Tong in Iowa, on 7 September, 2014.

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Shao's body was found by the Iowa Police stuffed in into the trunk of her own car on 26 September. Shao had gone missing for nearly two weeks before her body was found.

Authorities said Li is accused of strangling Shao, his girlfriend, inside a motel room following a heated argument. Li went home to China the following day.

The Iowa Police, which investigated the case, discovered that Li disappeared when he arrived in China and did not contact any friend of family member.

US investigators coordinated with their counterparts in China, prompting the Ministry of Public Security to send a team of investigators to the US to conduct investigation and gather evidence.

Records kept by the Iowa Police showed that Shao had gone to visit Li, who was then a University of Iowa student, on 17 September 2014 and had not been heard since then.

On 26 September, police found Shao's body in the trunk of her Toyota Camry. The vehicle was parked at the Dolphin Lake Point Enclave in Iowa City. Li resided in the area before he had flown to China.

It was only on 19 June of this year that Chinese police arrested Li and charged him for intentional murder.

According to a statement released by the Wenzhou City People's Procuratorate on Friday, Li intentionally killed Shao, his girlfriend, due to problems in the relationship.

The procuratorate added that Li will be prosecuted for intentional homicide based on sufficient evidence and ascertained facts.

Intentional homicide carries the penalty of death or 10 years imprisonment, according to Chinese criminal law.

TagsChina Killing, University of Iowa Killing, University of Iowa Student, Li Xiangnan, Shao Tong