"Post-85s" college student was arraigned for intentional homicide yesterday
Reported by Zhang Zhen and Liu Xiaoxing: He, for his girlfriend, resolutely gave up a well-paid job in a foreign enterprise. Regardless of his family's opposition, he followed his girlfriend from Zhongshan to Kunming and then to Guangzhou. However, the imbalance in love and unequal contributions took root in his heart. After a marriage proposal was rejected, he strangled his girlfriend with his own hands and cruelly dismembered her body. Yesterday, this "post-85s" college graduate was arraigned at the Intermediate People's Court of Guangzhou on charges of intentional homicide.
The unequal contribution made him resentful
In October 2009, Zhang Shunzhen, a Fujian youth who had just graduated from university, came to work for a foreign company in Zhongshan, Guangdong, where he met Xu Mou, a Hubei girl working in the same company. Zhang Shunzhen pursued her passionately. Two months later, the two established a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.
However, this relationship did not receive blessings from their families. Zhang Shunzhen's parents hoped that their only son would find a local girl; Xu Mou's family also felt that their daughter was too young and should not be involved in love too early.
At the end of 2009, Xu Mou resigned from the company to develop in Kunming, Yunnan. Zhang Shunzhen resolutely followed his girlfriend there. Not long after the two came to work in Kunming together, Xu Mou decided to go to Guangzhou to start her own career. "Wherever she goes, I will follow her," Zhang Shunzhen accompanied Xu Mou to Guangzhou and started anew.
On May 22, 2011, the two took advantage of the weekend to take a set of artistic photos. Back at their residence, Zhang Shunzhen once again proposed marriage to Xu Mou. Xu Mou’s attitude remained the same as before, emphasizing that she was still young and should respect her parents' opinions, but they could first get engaged.
"I loved her so much, and I sacrificed so much for her," thinking about his past unequal contributions, Zhang Shunzhen instantly became angry after his marriage proposal was rejected, believing that Xu Mou had no intention of marrying him. The two then had a fierce argument, but Xu Mou refused to give in. "I pushed her shoulder, and she thought I was hitting her, so she slapped my shoulder."
In the tussle, Xu Mou collided with the desk and fell to the ground. "I rushed forward, used my knee to press her arm, and used both hands to choke her neck, riding over her." Ten minutes later, Zhang Shunzhen realized that Xu Mou had no heartbeat after he let go.
To cover up his evil deeds, he cruelly dismembered her body
When asked why he dismembered the body after killing her, Zhang Shunzhen said that when he realized he had killed his girlfriend, he was very afraid. Originally, he wanted to dump the body and flee, but the body was too heavy to move conveniently. Thinking about the expectations his parents had for him, Zhang Shunzhen believed "I can't let my parents know I killed someone; I've always been a good child in their eyes."
After dismembering the body, Zhang Shunzhen threw the tools used in the crime into a cluster of grass beside the Xinya Bridge in Huadu District.
Afterwards, he even accompanied the girlfriend's family to look for her
Xu Mou's family was anxious about losing track of her. When Zhang Shunzhen received a call from Xu Mou's family, he remained abnormally calm, claiming that due to an argument, he didn't know where his girlfriend was, and voluntarily offered to accompany Xu Mou's family in the search.
Through multiple interactions, Xu Mou's family gradually realized that Zhang Shunzhen might be lying and detained his ID card demanding proof at the police station. Faced with the officers' questioning, Zhang Shunzhen remained calm and composed, without any flaws.
On May 24, 2011, Zhang Shunzhen fled to Xiamen, "I wanted to end myself in Xiamen to make amends, but it wasn't successful." Eventually, justice prevailed, and on July 19, 2011, Zhang Shunzhen was successfully arrested by the police after returning to his hometown in Fujian.
Court Focus:
Intentional homicide or intentional injury
Yesterday morning, the second courtroom of the Intermediate People's Court of Guangzhou was packed with spectators. If it weren't for the bailiff standing nearby and the blue prison uniform, it would be hard to believe that the frail young man with a timid look in his eyes sitting in the defendant's seat was the suspect who mercilessly strangled his girlfriend and dismembered her body.
Throughout the trial, Zhang Shunzhen sitting in the defendant's chair kept his head down, his voice as small as a mosquito's, defending himself that he did not intentionally kill his girlfriend, "I really like her, never intended to take her life, I don't know how I ended up killing her."
Zhang Shunzhen's defense lawyer denied that Zhang Shunzhen committed intentional homicide, arguing that Zhang Shunzhen subjectively had no motive to kill, and submitted a certificate showing that Zhang Shunzhen's family had a history of mental illness, indicating that "Zhang Shunzhen might have had a mental illness during the incident," and applied for a psychiatric evaluation for Zhang Shunzhen in court.
The prosecutor stated that Zhang Shunzhen constituted intentional homicide and suggested that the court sentence him to death. As a college student, Zhang Shunzhen should have known that strangling someone for a long time could result in death, yet he continued to strangle Xu Mou for a long period, deliberately pursuing the outcome of death. Moreover, after the incident, Zhang Shunzhen pretended to help Xu Mou's family search for her, proving his maturity and cruel methods.
Courtroom Scene:
Defendant knelt before his parents
At 11 a.m. yesterday, during a brief recess, many of Xu Mou's family members pointed at Zhang Shunzhen's family and loudly scolded them, calling the mental illness claim an excuse for Zhang Shunzhen to avoid the death penalty. Zhang Shunzhen's parents remained silent, heads bowed.
When the court reconvened, Zhang Shunzhen, handcuffed and escorted by the bailiff, suddenly knelt before his parents in the audience section, his head hanging low on his knees. The bailiff tried several times before managing to pull him up.