Tao, a 53-year-old Shenzhen resident, Southern Metropolis Daily (SMD) reports, is in police custody after murdering her former lover on the first day of Chinese New Year in what appears to have been a crime fueled by jealousy, spite and desolation.

At around 9 p.m. on January 23, a group of women were playing Mahjong in a rented flat in Shenzhen’s Futian District when Tao broke through the door and stabbed her ex-partner, 48-year-old Huang, in the throat with a fruit knife. Huang died shortly after. Half a month on, police have finally concluded their investigation.

Tao and Huang, both natives of Hubei province, were colleagues in a housekeeping company in Shenzhen; despite each being married with children, the two women began a romantic relationship.

Huang, SMD writes, was a big fan of Mahjong. During one of her games, she came to know Xu (also married) who then became her lover, leading to Huang’s decision to break things off with Tao. When Tao refused to end the relationship, Huang made efforts to avoid contact with her.

The love triangle between the three middle-age married women ended tragically when Tao’s resulting jealousy, it seems, drove her mad. One of the women is now dead, one faces murder charges, and all three families are broken.