Tag Archives: Murder

Zhang Koukou Case

Zhang Koukou Case: China’s Lunar New Year Revenge Killing Explained (1996–2019)

Leave a reply

I. Case Background: A Homicide from Twenty-Two Years Earlier

The core facts of the Zhang Koukou case cannot be understood apart from the neighborhood conflict that occurred in 1996. The criminal motive recognized by the court in Zhang Koukou’s trial points directly to this old case.

Zhang Koukou’s family and Wang Zixin’s family were neighbors in Wangping Village, Xinji Town, Nanzheng District, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province. On August 27, 1996, the two families clashed over a neighborhood dispute. During the conflict, Wang Zhengjun, the third son of Wang Zixin (then 17 years old), intentionally caused the death of Zhang Koukou’s mother, Wang Xiuping.

Regarding the cause of the 1996 conflict, CCTV reporters learned from local village cadres and villagers after the case that Wang Xiuping and Wang Zixin’s family had a dispute over a foundation boundary, which later escalated. According to media reports, Wang Xiuping displayed extreme behavior during the conflict, and Wang Zhengjun struck her temple with a wooden club, causing her death.

On December 5 of the same year, the former Nanzheng County People’s Court issued a judgment in the case. The court found Wang Zhengjun guilty of intentional injury, but given that he was under eighteen at … Read More

Luoyang Arcade Murder

Luoyang Arcade Murder (2000): Owner Killed 3 Schoolboys Over 2.5 Yuan, Burned Bodies

Leave a reply

On February 27, 2000, a heartbreaking tragedy occurred in Luoyang, Henan. Three sixth-grade primary school students, after quietly leaving an arcade because they had overspent by 2.5 yuan, were tricked into returning by the arcade owner Jin Xiangwu and brutally killed. He then colluded with his elder brother to move the bodies and burn them to destroy the evidence. This bloody case, triggered by a trivial sum of money, exposed the perpetrator’s extreme cruelty and disregard for life, and caused a strong social shock locally.

I. Background: An Arcade and Three Boys

The crime scene was located in Luoyang City, and the arcade involved was operated by Jin Xiangwu. Jin Xiangwu was a local self-employed operator, and his elder brother Jin Xiangyu participated in helping destroy evidence after the incident. The three victims were all sixth-grade students of the First Primary School of Luoyang Bearing Factory: Duan Keke, Xue Yashan, and Du Ruofei. The three were of similar age, were close in daily life, and often visited the arcade together in their spare time. For primary school students at that time, arcade spending was not cheap, and the three had limited pocket money, which also planted the seeds for the … Read More

1997 Changzhou Grocery Store Double Murder Solved After 14 Years

1997 Changzhou Grocery Store Double Murder Solved After 14 Years: How Forensic Sketch and Offender Database Caught the Killer

Leave a reply

On the morning of October 21, 1997, police in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, received a report from employees of Yimin Grocery Store that their two night-shift workers had been killed the previous night.

Upon receiving the report, police immediately rushed to the scene. The scene was extremely bloody. The two victims had been struck on the head with a blunt instrument while asleep and killed. A check by store staff revealed that a large quantity of cigarettes had been stolen.

Of the two deceased, one was Zhu Jumei, a retired female employee who had come to the store for the night shift. The other was Xue Chunfeng, a newly hired 20-year-old female sales clerk who lived at the store at night because her home was relatively far from where she worked.

Through crime scene investigation and taking into account the stolen cigarettes from the store, police quickly determined the nature of the case: it was a homicide that had escalated from theft to robbery and murder.

Based on the crime scene investigation and interviews conducted in the surrounding area, police developed a preliminary profile of the perpetrator: a young adult male, approximately 25 years old, financially strapped and in great … Read More

Internet Cafe Addiction Rob and Kill a Grocery Store Owner

Yantai Xingfu Community Murder Case: How Internet Cafe Addiction Led a 24-Year-Old to Rob and Kill a Grocery Store Owner

Leave a reply

There is a Xingfu community in Zhifu District, Yantai City. Twenty-five years ago, the Xingfu No. 12 Village Vegetable Wholesale Market was built here. This vegetable wholesale market is the largest vegetable transfer station in Yantai City. It is bustling every day, and vendors doing business come and go. Along both sides of a main north-south road are some low shops, where the owners do small retail businesses and are all very familiar with one another.

However, two days before Qingming Festival in 2011, the neighbors next to a shop called “Jiaodong One-Yuan Store” found it very strange that the owner, the elderly woman Guo Lanqiu, had not opened for three days. According to the surrounding neighbors, Mrs. Guo Lanqiu had been in this wholesale market the longest. She had been doing business here since the market was built, and she rarely had times when she did not open for business. Even during festivals and holidays, she seldom rested.

The hardworking Mrs. Guo Lanqiu had not been open for three days, which also aroused the curiosity of the surrounding neighbors. The neighbor next door to “Jiaodong One-Yuan Store” decided to go and see what was going on.

When the neighbors … Read More

Mother Strangled Daughter Killed in Fire

Village Mother Strangled and Daughter Killed in Arson Fire: DNA Evidence Leads Police to Neighbor Who Confessed to Rape and Robbery Attempt in Hebei, China

Leave a reply

Julucun Village, Taocheng District, Hengshui City, Hebei Province. On April 26, shortly after 6 a.m., villager Jia got up early to go water his family’s field. Suddenly, he discovered that smoke was coming from his neighbor Zhang Hongying’s house. Jia quickly told his wife to go call Zhang Hongying. She called out several times, but no one responded.

The thick smoke grew heavier and heavier. Sensing that something was wrong, Jia went out to the main street and called several villagers, so everyone went into Zhang Hongying’s yard together to see where exactly the smoke was coming from.

They found that the source of the smoke was in the middle room of the north house of Zhang Hongying’s home. By that time, the cotton stored inside had already caught fire, and most of the fire had spread to the other two rooms of the north house. The roof had been burned through, forming a large hole. The furniture and some electrical appliances in the house had already been destroyed by the fire. When everyone came to the westernmost room of the north house, they made an even more shocking discovery: Zhang Hongying’s youngest daughter, only 5 years old, lay motionless … Read More

Gaoxian Village Murder Case Shanxi

Dong Xueqin Murder Case (2011): Shanxi Police Investigation, Suspect Han Hejun & Grave Keeper’s Death Explained

Leave a reply

On January 25, 2011, the elderly Qiao Maolin from Gaoxian Village, Quwo County, Linfen City, Shanxi Province, came to his son’s house as usual. Because his son worked away from home all year round and his twin grandsons attended school in the county town, only his daughter-in-law, Dong Xueqin, was at home running the small shop and mahjong stall the family had opened. Qiao Maolin was worried that his daughter-in-law could not handle everything alone, so he came every day to see what help she needed.

After entering the courtyard, Qiao Maolin called Dong Xueqin’s name, but no one answered. He saw that the bedroom door was open, and from outside the door he saw a person lying on the ground, with the head covered by a quilt and a large pool of blood underneath. When Qiao Maolin lifted the quilt, he saw that the person lying on the ground was his daughter-in-law, Dong Xueqin. Her head had been smashed open, with a large dent in it. He was terrified at the time and immediately called the police.

After receiving the report, the Quwo County Public Security Bureau immediately organized criminal investigation, technical investigation, police station, and other relevant personnel … Read More

shepherd finds burned body in grove Hebei

Shepherd Finds Burned Body in Hebei Grove: Father, Brother and Brother-in-Law Killed Village Scourge Who Terrorized Family

Leave a reply

At 5 PM on January 27, 2011, in Houbudonghu Village, Dengyoufang Town, Kangbao County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, a shepherd named Mr. Qin was grazing his sheep in a small grove as usual. He suddenly noticed a strange phenomenon: several sheep scattered in different directions as if trying to avoid something. Mr. Qin found it puzzling, so he wanted to find out what was going on. When he walked over to that spot, he saw a dark mass in front of him. By then it was already getting dark, and Mr. Qin could not determine what it was, so he drove the flock home.

The next afternoon, Mr. Qin again drove his sheep to this small grove. When he approached the dark mass, he became certain that what he saw was a burned corpse.

Panicked, Mr. Qin hurriedly ran back to the village and reported the situation to the village officials, who then called the police.

When the police examined the scene, they found the body lying on its side on the ground, head south and feet north, in a curled-up posture. Police found a red bottle cap at the scene. They smelled it and detected the odor of diesel, … Read More

Villager Kills Abusive Father After Years of Domestic Violence

Villager Kills Abusive Father After Years of Domestic Violence, Gets Life Sentence in Yunnan

Leave a reply

On January 5, 2010, the Luliang County Public Security Bureau in Yunnan Province suddenly received a mysterious phone call. The caller said he was a villager from Baiyanghe Village, Sanchahe Town, Luliang County, and that a 52-year-old villager named Bao Changsheng had not been seen for four or five days. The caller worried that Bao Changsheng had been murdered and hoped the police would investigate. When the police went to the village to investigate, the caller did not reveal his identity, but one thing he reported was true: Bao Changsheng had indeed disappeared during that period.

It was learned that Bao Changsheng was an old resident of the village. He had divorced three years earlier, his daughter had married far away seven years ago, and his two sons were working elsewhere. Bao Changsheng himself had rarely left home for decades. When he had nothing to do, he would wander around the village every day and chat with others. This time, after being missing for many days, the villagers had no idea where he had gone, which inevitably aroused suspicion.

Just as the police were full of doubts, a villager reported that Bao Changsheng’s eldest son, Bao Jiangang, had suddenly returned … Read More

exhume the body for autopsy

Drug Addict Fakes His Own Death, Murders Two in Sichuan: The Tang Mingyue Case

Leave a reply

On the afternoon of December 24, 2010, 68-year-old villager Chen Minghua from Yaotang Township, Da County, Sichuan Province, saw his 54-year-old nephew Chen Shiping lying motionless on the ground in his own yard. He thought Chen Shiping had suffered a sudden illness. So he kept shouting in Chen Shiping’s ear: Chen Shiping, wake up! However, Chen Shiping did not respond at all.

Chen Minghua lifted Chen Shiping’s collar and saw a large bloody gash on his neck. He was frightened out of his wits and staggered outside, shouting: Help! The villagers who heard Chen Minghua’s shouts quickly came and helped Chen Minghua call the police.

On the day of the incident, after receiving the report, the police immediately conducted a careful inspection of the scene. The forensic doctor confirmed that Chen Shiping had been killed between 12:00 and 14:00 on the 24th. The deceased died from severe head injuries, and it was homicide. In addition, through the inspection and Chen Minghua’s identification, the killer had left at the scene a bloody knife, a yellow folding umbrella, and a pair of men’s black leather shoes and a dark gray outer garment that the killer had changed out of after committing the … Read More

Gambling Addict An Zhihongs High Interest Loan Revenge Case

Murder and Burning of a Mother and Daughter in Datong: Gambling Addict An Zhihong’s High-Interest Loan Revenge Case

Leave a reply

In the early hours of April 6, 2011, a fire broke out in a residential building in the mining area of Datong City, Shanxi Province. After receiving the alarm, firefighters immediately rushed to the scene.

The fire started in a second-floor apartment of the residential building. When the firefighters had brought the fire under control and were about to enter the apartment to check whether anyone had been injured, they made an unexpected discovery. After breaking down the door, they found two bodies inside the apartment, which made what had originally seemed to be a small fire become extremely complicated. Who exactly were the two dead people?

After receiving the report, police officers from the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Mining District Public Security Sub-bureau of the Datong Municipal Public Security Bureau also arrived at the scene. According to a preliminary investigation, both of the deceased had multiple fatal wounds. Because the fire had been extinguished in time, the two bodies were not badly burned. The police initially concluded that this was a case of murder followed by burning of the bodies.

The suspect set the fire in the early hours of April 6, and his intention was very clear: … Read More