Detectives detail kidnap victim's tale of survival; try to connect suspect to other crimes

MONTEREY PARK -- Sheriff's officials Friday detailed the remarkable story of survival of a woman who was kidnapped, attacked and left for dead last week as they asked for the public's help in linking additional crimes to the suspect.
DeQiang Song, 24, is accused of kidnapping the woman -- a 21-year-old San Gabriel Valley resident -- Sept. 8 after taking her on a shopping trip to the Westfield Santa Anita Shopping Mall in Arcadia.
From there, investigators said, he drove her to a remote area of desert in San Bernardino County where he strangled her, slit her throat and left her for dead.
Believing the woman was dead, Song allegedly used the woman's cell phone to call her father and demand ransom money. But she regained consciousness once her attacker left.
"She managed to walk approximately half a mile through the desert to a house," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Major Crimes Bureau Lead Detective Michael Soop said. Residents of the home then called for help.
"She's alive because she had the determination and will to live," Soop said.
Deputies arrested Song and seized his car in the early morning hours of Sept. 9 as he tried to pick up ransom money at a prearranged spot in San Gabriel, authorities said.
Detectives had been working with the victim's father to lure the suspect through the promise of a ransom payment, but declined to release additional details about the arrest.
Song initially demanded $100,000 for the woman's safe return, Soop said. "We finally negotiated a ransom for $10,000." The negotiations were carried out in Mandarin.
The complexity involved in the crime has led investigators to suspect this was not Song's first crime.
"The planning, sophistication and elaborate nature of this crime may indicate that this is not the only crime in which he's been involved," Soop said.
Authorities released photos of Song and his vehicle, a 2009 Toyota Venza with Illinois license plate number H897160, to the public Friday in hopes of tracking down anyone who may have information about this crime or any other crimes connected to Song.
Sheriff Lee Baca said the "senseless, horrifying and brutal crime" began, "as a casual date," and that her previous encounters with Song had appeared innocent.
"The victim had no forewarning as to what would occur," Baca said.
Soop said the woman and Song met about a week prior at a karaoke club in the San Gabriel Valley, and he introduced himself to her with the alias of Xia-Yu. They had again met at karaoke clubs twice, and had gone to the beach together the day before the kidnapping.
Detectives believe Song was planning the crime before he met with the woman on Sept. 9.
He detoured their outing by making up a fake errand in the Apple Valley area, Soop said. The attack took place in a remote area of desert off the 15 Freeway between Apple Valley and Victorville.
"Already within the suspect's vehicle were the instruments he ultimately used to commit the kidnapping and attempted murder of the victim," he said. The tools included latex gloves, a cord to strangle the woman with, bindings, a knife, and extra license plates for his vehicle.
Detectives discovered clothing and blood at the scene of the attack in the desert on Sept. 10.
Song is believed to be the only suspect involved in the kidnapping and attempted murder, Soop added.
Song immigrated to Chicago from the Shen-Yang Province of China under a student visa in 2008, officials said.
He moved to an apartment in Monterey Park in late July, Soop said, where he has been staying since.
San Bernardino Superior Court records indicate Song has an existing burglary case pending against him in that county.
His history both in Chicago and in China remained under investigation.
According to sheriff's booking records, Song was being held in lieu of $2,050,000 bail at the Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles. He was due for arraignment Sept. 29 in Alhambra Superior Court.

*PHOTOS of Deqiang Song and his car come courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.