A British expat living in China was killed after a heated argument with his ex-wife, who fatally stabbed him in the neck in his Shanghai apartment.

British national Michael Simpson was brutally murdered on March 20 by his ex-wife, Wei-Wei Fu, while their two children, 7-year-old Jack and 4-year-old Alice, were sound asleep.

The 34-year-old expat did not sustain any defensive wounds, which indicates that he was killed by with the use of a concealed knife, according to The Daily Mail. Simpson’s new partner, Rachel Lin, was left in critical condition after Fu also slashed her arms “to the bone.”

Fu reportedly attempted to blackmail the couple by showing them some embarrassing material of Lin. Fu will now stand trial in China on Monday for murdering her ex-husband, which could warrant her up to 50 years imprisonment.

The victim’s 37-year-old brother, Andrew, exclaimed that their family’s grief is further worsened by the fact that they’re unable to see his brother’s two children. “We’ve not seen or heard from the children since Michael’s passing because they were taken away by his ex-wife’s brother the next morning, when we are trying to grieve there is a fight to try and see the children. We just want to get them home.”

“Michael loved working but his overwhelming passion was his two children, Jack and Alice. When he was not working he would spend every minute of the day with them,” Andrew explained. Simpson’s two children are still in the care of Fu’s brother.

However, Simpson’s parents are now entangled in a legal battle in China, attempting to win back the custody of the victim’s children in order to bring them back to their home in the U.K. Simpson was originally from Wimborne, Dorset before he moved to China in 2009 to serve as the operations manager of his company Next’s Far East expansion. A spokesperson from his company revealed that Simpson was a “much liked” and “long-standing” colleague before his tragic death.

Simpson met store assistant Fu shortly after his arrival in China and eventually got married and had two children together, but ultimately separated in 2015. The British national’s divorce was reportedly ongoing when he met his new partner, Lin. Following the attack, Lin has lost the ability to use her right arm; Simpson’s parents have set up a Crowdfunding page to raise £35,000 ($46,570) for her medical expenses as well as their legal fees.