(Photo: twoeggz.com)

A woman from Central China's Hunan Province killed herself and her two children on Wednesday after her husband faked his death to collect insurance money.   

The wife surnamed Dai jumped into a pond in Xinhua county, Hunan Province with her son and daughter, local newspaper Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported. 

Dai left a suicide note expressing her grief and desperation after her husband disappeared on September 19. The search was fruitless and she could no longer handle the pressure, the newspaper reported.         

Dai's husband surnamed He was driving a borrowed car when he disappeared. The car was retrieved on October 1 from a nearby river. 

After learning of the death of his wife and children, He confessed to the police on Friday. Investigation shows He bought insurance for 1 million yuan ($144,561) on September 9 and forged his death. He wanted to use the money to pay off his online loan, Xinhua police reported on its WeChat account.

Xinhua police said He was detained for allegedly deliberately destroying property and insurance fraud. 

A video circulating on Weibo shows He kneeling down in grief, crying that he borrowed money online and overdrew credit cards to pay for treatment for his 3-year-old daughter, who was suffering from epilepsy.

"He's family said Dai stayed home and He had to earn for four mouths. They also accused Dai of extravagance," Dai's cousin told The Beijing News. 

Dai had demolition compensation of about 300,000 yuan, and Dai's family suspected that He caused the family's financial predicament, The Beijing News reported. 

The latest report from Chongqing Daily's news app said He has been robbing Peter to pay Paul for years. He has borrowed from over 50 non-bank institutions, and applied for two online loans while in hiding.  

Zhang Xinnian, a Beijing-based lawyer, told the Global Times on Monday that He did not succeed in swindling the insurance since he never received money. 

 "Some netizens said He had caused the death of his family, but the causal relation between He's fraud and Dai's suicide will be difficult to prove in court," Zhang said, adding that He will be condemned morally but unlikely to suffer criminal liability for the death of his family.