Before the incident, Chang Linfeng, former deputy editor of China Electronics Newspaper, presided over the release event. (File photo)
After Chang Linfeng was taken into custody, investigators conducted a psychological test on him. (Video screenshot)
On March 23 this year, the second trial of the case involving Chang Linfeng, former deputy editor of China Electronics Newspaper, who was suspected of killing his wife and burning her body, was held at the Beijing Higher People's Court. Ten months ago, Chang Linfeng was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for intentional homicide and arson in the first trial. Afterwards, Chang Linfeng appealed, claiming that his confession obtained by the court in the first trial was due to torture and excessive interrogation, stating it was "a baseless charge." Currently, the second trial has not yet been announced.
A family once known as a "Five Good Civilized Family," now sees the wife dead and the husband arrested, leaving behind only their 10-year-old son who suffers from autism.
On April 7, at the Central University of Finance and Economics residential compound, the home of Chang Linfeng and his wife Li Yan (pseudonym).
The dust-covered burglar-proof door reveals the faint sign of a "Five Good Civilized Family."
Four years ago, a fire changed the fate of the Chang Linfeng family.
Ten days before the incident (May Day in 2007), the 44-year-old Chang Linfeng and his wife Li Yan were taking care of their child in Qingdao.
Chang Linfeng's cousin-in-law Zhang Jianhua recalled that during those days, it was Chang Linfeng who cooked, washed clothes, and cleaned the room. "He thought the washing machine didn't clean well, so he would take out the dirty places and wash them by hand," Zhang Jianhua said. At that time, they had quarreled, and Chang Linfeng would retreat to the bathroom and vent his anger in a low voice.
The first trial determined "killing his wife and burning her body."
Regarding the fire, the findings of the first trial court and the statement of Chang Linfeng in the second trial were almost completely opposite.
In May 2010, the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court made its first-instance judgment, determining that at around midnight on May 16, 2007, Chang Linfeng had an argument with his wife Li Yan at their home, strangled her neck causing mechanical asphyxiation leading to her death. Subsequently, Chang Linfeng transported his wife's body to the hallway on the first floor of the unit and set it on fire, causing a fire that injured himself and two neighbors.
During the trial, the court accepted Chang Linfeng's guilty confession made during his detention. On May 15, 2007, Chang Linfeng returned home at around 11 p.m. after being busy with work. His wife told him that one of her friends from Shenzhen had brought her child to Beijing for treatment and wanted to stay at their home. Chang Linfeng did not respond immediately, and his wife then asked, "Can you give me a straightforward answer if they can stay here?"
Due to disliking his wife's tone, etc., the two argued, escalating from throwing things to mutual physical fighting until Li Yan was strangled to death. After considering for two or three hours, because it was windy that night, Chang Linfeng decided to create a scene of a fire accident making it appear as though his wife died while escaping the fire, thus carrying her body to the first floor and setting it on fire...
In response, Chang Linfeng's defense attorney Zhao Yunheng stated that during the second trial, Chang Linfeng clearly indicated that his aforementioned confession was obtained under torture, inducement, and excessive interrogation.
However, the pre-trial personnel who testified in the second trial denied the existence of torture.
The second trial saw Chang Linfeng retract his confession, claiming "escaping from the fire."
In Chang Linfeng's account, the fire became another "version."
That evening upon returning home, the couple briefly exchanged information about a friend coming to borrow their place and the situation of their child in Qingdao, then went to sleep separately in the south and north rooms. While sound asleep, Chang Linfeng was awakened by the noise downstairs. Upon pulling up the bamboo curtain on the balcony, he found thick smoke everywhere and hurriedly ran to the north room where his wife was. At that moment, his wife was just getting up in confusion and asking what was happening outside. After learning about the fire, she followed Chang Linfeng out.
"I rushed out of the door and desperately ran downstairs, but when I reached near the second floor, I felt unable to continue. A strong wave of high-temperature smoke pushed me back," Chang Linfeng described. He turned and ran upstairs, reaching a neighbor's house on the fifth floor, where he waited for rescue personnel.
However, according to several residents on the first and third floors who experienced the big fire, due to the intense flames, the burglar-proof doors were scorching hot. After calling 119, they could only cling to the windows waiting for rescue.
Ultimately, Li Yan's charred body was found in the hallway on the first floor. The appraisal concluded, "It cannot be ruled out that she died from mechanical asphyxiation caused by strangulation or throttling of the neck; post-mortem burning."
In response, defense attorney Zhao Yunheng stated that this appraisal could not conclusively prove that Li Yan was strangled to death. He believed that currently, it is impossible to exclude the possibility that Li Yan fell unconscious due to collisions or fear during her escape, rolling down the stairs to the ground floor... This does not form a closed chain of evidence with Chang Linfeng's inconsistent confessions.
However, during the second trial, the prosecutor rebutted this claim, stating that there was no carbon dust in Li Yan's trachea. If she had fainted in the fire scene, it would have been impossible for her not to inhale any carbon dust.
A capable and valued vice editor
A 32-page handwritten letter in fountain pen, with relatively neat handwriting, defense attorney Zhao Yunheng said, was written by Chang Linfeng in the detention center using his burned hands - a "ten-thousand-word essay."
"To protect our child and also for our own family, we have done our best to race against time," Chang Linfeng wrote in the letter, indicating that as a couple who had gone through hardships together, he had no reason to harm her.
Born in Zhengzhou, Henan Province in 1963, Chang Linfeng served as the deputy editor of China Electronics Newspaper before the incident, responsible for the editing and operation of home appliance news. As an important department for newspaper revenue, Chang Linfeng's position in the unit was indispensable.
There are three siblings in the Chang family, all of whom have received good education. Chang Linfeng graduated from Wuhan University's economics program in 1985 and was subsequently smoothly assigned to work in Beijing.
Younger brother Chang Linchao recalled that his older brother liked painting since childhood and had a gentle personality. The two brothers, only two years apart, studied in the same school. When the older brother was bullied and dared not fight back, it was always the younger brother who stood up for him.
Strong working ability is the unanimous evaluation of colleagues. Under Chang Linfeng's leadership, they organized six or seven industry forums within a year, with an average net profit of about 500,000 yuan per forum. Zuo Yanque, who was new to the field, was mentored by Chang Linfeng in running business. He recalled that although Chang Linfeng did not smoke, drink alcohol, or sing karaoke, he could still talk and laugh freely at the dinner table.
According to Chang Linfeng himself, he "had a career envied by others and a promising future."
A strong-willed wife who loved dancing
On the dance floor, the black-and-red moving figures left a deep impression on outsiders regarding Chang Linfeng and his wife.
Li Yan was a teacher at the Central University of Finance and Economics. Deng Xiaqun from the Student Affairs Office was Li Yan's good friend, and they had worked in the same office for many years.
Deng Xiaqun mentioned that Li Yan initially worked in administration, but she was ambitious and studious, so she managed to secure a teaching position at the School of Culture and Communication.
In Deng Xiaqun's memory, Chang Linfeng was quiet and a good dancer.
Before having children, Chang Linfeng and his wife frequently participated in dance competitions. During their leisure time in Beijing, they danced with friends like Deng Xiaqun, even advancing to the top three in the amateur group of the National Standard Dance Championship.
At that time, the young couple occasionally quarreled, and Chang Linfeng would jokingly say, "I can't divorce her, what would happen if such a troublemaker was released into society?"
In younger brother Chang Linchao's eyes, his grown-up older brother was somewhat bourgeois, liking coffee and decorating his home elegantly.
Colleagues described how Chang Linfeng bought leather shoes worth thousands of yuan, wore crisp shirts, and read magazines like "Fashion Men" and "Driver."
Children disrupted the family
"For a long time, we have been striving for our careers and have paid little attention to household matters, which is why we had a child in middle age," Chang Linfeng wrote in his personal letter.
In 2001, at the age of 38, Chang Linfeng had a son named Ningning (a pseudonym), but he was diagnosed with congenital autism at the age of two.
"There is language, but it is hard to communicate with others; there is hearing, but it is deafening; there is behavior, but it always goes against your arrangements," Chang Linfeng wrote in his letter, "For quite some time, we were plunged into despair and often hugged each other and cried secretly behind our child's back, washing our faces with tears."
Neighbors who had visited Chang Linfeng's home described that the 60-plus square meter house was divided into two rooms facing south and north, and a central entrance hall. The couple connected the sunny southern room with the balcony and placed a large amount of rehabilitation equipment for Ningning's training.
Chang Linfeng recalled in his letter that every day after work, he started training his child without eating, and after the 9 p.m. training session ended, both adults were exhausted. However, the child, due to his illness, had difficulty falling asleep and needed to be kept awake for another two or three hours.
In April 2006, after learning about a rehabilitation center for autistic children in Qingdao, the couple rented a house there starting October of the same year for their son's treatment.
Cousin-in-law Zhang Jianhua was hired to take care of Ningning. She said that the monthly tuition alone cost 1800 yuan, plus rent and tutoring fees, totaling nearly ten thousand yuan, significantly increasing the economic burden on the couple.
However, with the help of the rehabilitation training center, Ningning made progress every day, learning to call "Mommy" and "Daddy."
Couple often argued under pressure
Since having this special child, the couple was rarely seen on the dance floor wearing their signature black-and-red dance outfits.
Deng Xiaqun said that Li Yan never complained to outsiders, sometimes saying she took a research leave to go abroad, but actually took leave to accompany her child to see doctors. Due to prolonged stress, Li Yan's immune system became disordered, and she often suffered from diarrhea.
Colleagues such as Zuo Yanque had visited Chang Linfeng's home, "arguing right in front of us..." Zuo Yanque recalled, making their leader, Chang Linfeng, feel extremely awkward in front of his subordinates.
Besides, during the annual summer group tours organized by the company, colleagues also noticed that Chang Linfeng and his wife would argue publicly.
After learning about Ningning's condition, colleagues all sympathized. "My greatest wish is to live one day longer than my child," Zuo Yanque recalled Chang Linfeng telling him.
Former neighbors said that Chang Linfeng was usually somewhat cold, even ignoring people in the hallway. But they couldn't believe that Chang Linfeng would kill his wife and burn her body, "after all, they had been living together for nearly 20 years," but the fact was that Li Yan was dead, and Chang Linfeng was "arrested."
Li Yan's only sister refused to be interviewed, saying, "Maybe they're all crazy, I don't know whether they expected or didn't expect (this situation)."
From the incident until now, Ningning hasn't seen his parents for nearly four years, and he doesn't know that he will never see his mother again. On January 16 last year, Ningning's birthday, Chang Linfeng drew a sketch of his son in the detention center and sent it out.
Zhang Jianhua, who takes care of Ningning, said that because there are no kindergartens or schools for him to attend, 10-year-old Ningning has regressed to his pre-training state, getting lost three times, "When Ningning is sad, he cries for two hours, and there's no reason to find."
This article was written/compiled by reporter Zhang Yuan of this newspaper.
(Editor: SN034)