Two-month-old baby left in family car for ten minutes was MURDERED by car thief who drove off while he was on back seat

A Chinese car thief has told police how he strangled a two-month-old boy to death when he stole a luxury motor with the tot still strapped into its baby seat.

Horrified dad Xu Ling, 34, had left the four-by-four car outside his shop in Changchun, Jilin province, northern China, with the engine running and baby Xu Haobo strapped into his seat.

But seconds later the car and the tot were gone, say police.

In a series of emotional TV appeals dad Xu said: 'Please, please don't hurt my boy. Do what you want with the car, but give us back our boy.

'The baby was crying and screaming and I thought he would give me away,' brutal Zhou Xijun, 48, told police.

'So I stopped the car, strangled the baby and buried his body in the snow,' added the killer, now facing the death penalty.

The tragedy touched locals in the city, who lit thousands of candles for the tragic tot.

'I can take comfort from the love other people have for my son but I can't understand how a human being could do that to a baby for a car,' said heartbroken dad Xu.

The disappearance sparked a two-day city-wide manhunt involving the whole city’s police force of more than 3,500 officers.

They set up roadblocks, combed the city’s streets and checked parking lots after the family alerted police. Taxi drivers also joined in the search.

The disappearance also sparked a huge media and online response, gripping the Chinese nation.

The search dominated social media websites, generating far more attention than the annual meeting of China's parliament, which opened in Beijing on Tuesday.

Several local radio channels suspended regular programing to follow the case. Jilin Traffic Radio offered a reward of up to £5,000 for information leading to the boy's recovery.

Earlier on Tuesday, the police said they found the car abandoned in front of a school 40 kilometres outside of the city, but there was no trace of the baby.

China.org.cn reported the baby's mother suffered a heart attack on hearing the news and was rushed to hospital.

According to Jilin Province police authorities, suspect Zhou Xijun confessed to officers yesterday.

It emerged that the 48-year-old had previously undergone two years forced labour for molesting women.

He admitted that, after finding the baby on the back seat of the car he had stolen, he strangled the infant before putting his body in a bag and burying it in the snow.

Police had already determined Zhou was the prime suspect before he gave himself up.

The suspect added that he abandoned the baby's clothes and the vehicle near Yongfa town of Gongzhuling. The police investigation continues.