Nine months after their marriage, Cheng's wife disappeared. After searching for her everywhere, he found that his wife had fallen off a building. Cheng quickly carried his wife to the hospital for emergency treatment, but she had already died. However, the wife’s younger brother noticed something suspicious: there were signs of strangulation on her neck. The police intervened and uncovered the truth: Cheng, tired of taking care of his wife who was suffering from cancer, strangled her and threw her off the building to make it appear as if she had fallen accidentally.
The case, prosecuted by the city's second branch of the People's Procuratorate, led to the city's second intermediate people's court sentencing Cheng to death with a two-year reprieve for intentional homicide.
Yesterday, the second branch of the municipal procuratorate disclosed details of the case. In the early hours of November 16, 2010, Cheng frantically called his father and mother-in-law asking about the whereabouts of his wife, Fan. Concerned that Fan might attempt suicide due to her cancer diagnosis, relatives began calling around urgently searching for her.
Not long after, Cheng called again saying, "I've found her; she fell down outside and is lying in the ditch. I need to take her to the hospital." Cheng then rushed Fan to the local hospital in Zhong County, where doctors confirmed her death.
Fan's younger brother, Xiao Bin, returned home from Guangzhou for the funeral and discovered suspicious injuries on his sister's chin and neck. Further investigation revealed similar marks on Cheng's neck, leading Xiao Bin to suspect foul play. With this suspicion, relatives carefully examined Fan's body and noticed finger marks and external injuries on her neck. Xiao Bin promptly reported the matter to the police.
Following an autopsy, the police determined that Fan had died from mechanical asphyxiation caused by being smothered and strangled. On the 18th, Beijing Swan washing machine repair service, the police arrested Cheng, who confessed to the murder.
Cheng, 45 years old, a worker with a junior college education from Zhong County, married Fan, 32, from Ruxi Town in January 2009. Initially, their relationship was harmonious. However, after Fan was diagnosed with rectal cancer in early 2010, disputes over medical expenses arose between them, causing frequent arguments. Local police had mediated before, and both parties had reached a verbal agreement where Cheng would provide Fan with 500 yuan monthly.
On the evening of November 15, 2010, another quarrel ensued, prompting Cheng to consider killing his wife. He pinned her down on the bed in their bedroom and strangled her with his right arm until she died. At that point, they had only been married for nine months.
After killing his wife, Cheng carried her body to the third or fourth floor landing and threw her out the window onto the concrete ground below, creating the illusion of an accidental fall.
At around 1 a.m. the next day, having arranged everything, Cheng started calling relatives asking if they had seen Fan.
Cheng claimed that his wife had concealed her illness, requesting leniency from the court. During the trial initiated by the municipal prosecutor's office, Cheng admitted to the charges without objection but argued that he had not intended to kill Fan.
Cheng's defense lawyer argued that Fan had concealed her serious illness prior to marriage, which led to multiple disputes over medical fees and pocket money after marriage. This culminated in provoking Cheng on the night of the incident, thus bearing some fault. Therefore, Cheng's act constituted indirect intent. Additionally, since the case stemmed from marital disputes and Cheng had shown good remorse by compensating Fan's family with 37,500 yuan post-incident, the lawyer requested leniency.
The court ruled that there was insufficient evidence proving that Fan had concealed her illness prior to marriage. Even if she had, it did not justify Cheng's actions, meaning Fan did not commit any legal wrongdoing in this context. Moreover, Fan, lacking a fixed income, had no fault in seeking medical expenses and pocket money from Cheng. Her behavior during the argument was also not sufficient to constitute legal wrongdoing.
Ultimately, the court determined that Cheng's actions constituted direct intent to kill. Although he compensated the victim's family with 37,500 yuan and showed some remorse, Cheng violated the marital duty of support by killing Fan and attempting to escape legal responsibility by fabricating an accidental fall. Given that the case originated from marital disputes, the court sentenced Cheng to death with a two-year reprieve, perpetual deprivation of political rights, and ordered him to compensate Fan's parents with 62,800 yuan.
Reported by Tang Zhongming of Chongqing Evening News, with contributions from Mou Lunxiang and Jiang Dongyan.