A man killed himself after stabbing a woman to death on a Longgang street, Shenzhen Saturday, Chinese media reported.

The woman's two-year-old son was at the murder scene, the Daily Sunshine reported. Her husband, who was informed of the incident three hours later, said the murderer was an acquaintance of his wife.

The Southern Metropolitan News quoted unknown sources as saying the two were ex-lovers.

Both the woman and the murderer were about 30 years old. They had a quarrel before the incident happened, said Liu Hong, a security guard with a nearby market.

"The woman's throat was severed. The man then stabbed his own throat three times with a 25-centimeter-long knife," said Liu.

The boy, covered with splashed blood, was devastated by what had happened. Standing between two corpses, he pulled the woman's clothes from time to time, crying, "Mom," said other witnesses.

The two had died by the time doctors and police arrived.

A street cleaner took the boy to a police station, where he was collected by his father three hours later. The father told police the murderer was an acquaintance of his wife.

The case is still under investigation.

(Shenzhen Daily June 6, 2005)