The authorities in the Wendeng district of Weihai, Shandong province, have detained the mother and her new boyfriend as suspects in the case involving the unnatural death of a five-year-old boy. The district public security branch took action promptly after receiving a report about the incident, leading to the criminal detention of the two suspects, surnamed Chen and Shi, on the same day as the report. Following the detention, a forensic examination of the deceased child's body was carried out to gather evidence pertinent to the case.

The boy's father, surnamed Zheng, expressed suspicions of physical abuse and alleged a connection between his son's death and his ex-wife, surnamed Chen, and her boyfriend, Shi, in statements to the media. Zheng recounted the distressing moment when he received a call from local authorities informing him that his son had passed away at the hospital, prompting him to rush to the medical facility. Upon arriving, Zheng discovered his son with visible injuries, including extensive bruising on the upper body and wounds on the chest and face. Zheng's concerns about his son's well-being escalated following the divorce from Chen, as their son had been residing with her post-separation.