The man being hunted over a family's murder lost a court battle with them the day before they were killed.

Police believe Anxiang Du, 52, may have fled the country following Friday's fatal stabbing of university lecturer Jifeng Ding, 56, his wife Helen Chui, 47, and daughters Xing, 18, and Alice, 12.

Yesterday, Det Supt Glynn Timmins revealed the two families had been locked in a legal battle that cost tens of thousands of pounds.

The day before the deaths a judge ruled against Mr Du, who had joint business interests with Helen Chui.

Police also revealed CCTV footage showing his movements on the day of the killings in Wootton, Northampton. They lost track of him shortly after 1pm on Friday.

Mr Timmins said: "It seems likely that Mr Du will want to go to ground.

"What makes this an enigma is his car has not shown up anywhere on our plate recognition software."