Xiaoli (a pseudonym) fell while escaping from a third-floor window. Photo by reporter Guoliang Dong. At midnight, an abrupt "Help!" shout was heard, followed by a muffled "Thud" sound. A woman was lying on the ground groaning, and outside a window on the third floor of a neighboring residential house, there hung a rope made of bed sheets. What happened?
A homemade rope hung outside the 3rd floor window.
According to Mr. Wang, a resident of Building 273 in Qing'an Innovation Road Community, at around 12:00 AM on February 13th, he hadn't gone to sleep yet when he suddenly heard a shrill "Help!" cry, followed by a muffled "Thud." He went downstairs to check and found a young woman lying on the ground groaning. When asked what happened, she pointed to the west fence and said, "I was trapped by my ex-boyfriend for several days. I couldn't bear it anymore, so I escaped through the window."
Mr. Wang said that to the west of the community is the east wall of a residential house in Yanjiabao Village, where the windows can be seen. At the time, a window on the north side of the third floor of this residential house was open, and a rope made of bed sheets tied together extended all the way to the ground. The security guards of the community and other residents quickly arrived and called 110 and 120. The woman was soon taken away by an ambulance.
Yesterday morning, at the inpatient department of Xi'an Medical College Affiliated Hospital, Xiaoli (a pseudonym) lay in bed wiping her tears continuously. She suffered severe fractures in her waist and heels and needed surgery. It was estimated that she would have to stay in bed for several months. When asked about the incident, she repeatedly said, "My body hurts a lot, and I regret it."
"Trapped while retrieving clothes"
Xiaoli said that once, as GF1 and NEX-5, she was from Xianyang and was 26 years old. In late 2009, she met a man surnamed Li from Huxian online, and they started dating. At that time, she wasn't divorced but often quarreled with her husband, and their relationship was strained. After divorcing during the Spring Festival of 2010, she began living with Li in a rented house in Yanjiabao Village. As they got to know each other better, she felt that their personalities didn't match, so she proposed breaking up at the end of 2011, but Li disagreed. This year, she returned home for the Spring Festival and remarried her ex-husband. On February 6th, when she went to the rented house in Yanjiabao Village to retrieve her clothes, she was trapped by Li and couldn't leave.
"As soon as I saw Li, he took my phone and wouldn't let me contact the outside world. For the first three days, he bought me a bowl of noodles every afternoon, and later, he only provided drinks but no food. He also damaged the door lock so I couldn't go out," Xiaoli said. During the six days she was trapped, she mainly slept and thought of many ways to get out, but none of them worked. "We argued every day, and I couldn't take it anymore. On the evening of the 12th, I saw that he had fallen asleep, so I started planning my escape." The plan was to tie a rope made of bed sheets and clothes, bind it to the window, and climb down using it.
"I was too hungry to hold onto the rope"
Xiaoli said that after hanging the homemade rope from the third-floor window that night, she stood on a stool and looked down. Since it was quite high, she felt scared. However, her desire to escape was greater, so she didn't think much about it and climbed out of the window, trying to slide down along the rope. "I was too hungry, and I didn't have any strength, so I couldn't hold onto the rope and fell..."
"He initially deceived me by saying his family was very wealthy and his father drove a Land Rover. In reality, he had no job, lacked ambition, and took a lot of money from me," Xiaoli said tearfully as she recounted her experience. "Every time I decided to leave him, he would always track me down, and I was afraid he would retaliate."
The landlord of the place Li rented told reporters that the rent was 500 yuan per month, and Li owed two months' rent already. Other tenants also said that they had heard noises coming from Li's room on the third floor in recent days.
Yesterday, officers from Tumen Police Station of Lianhu Public Security Bureau told reporters that the woman claimed she was trapped, but the man denied it. Due to the lack of third-party evidence in this case, the police were still investigating.
Statement from the involved man:
"It came to this because of money"
Yesterday afternoon, at Tumen Police Station of Lianhu Public Security Bureau, the reporter had a conversation with the involved man, Li.
Reporter: What's your relationship with Xiaoli?
Li: We are boyfriend and girlfriend. Initially, she didn't tell me she was married. Later, on her birthday, I found out, but I didn't mind. I love her; she's a good person, just a bit temperamental.
Reporter: On February 6th, when she went to the rented house to retrieve items, did you trap her?
Li: I didn't trap her. When she came, we were laughing and chatting, and we even went online together. One day, the lock broke, and neither of us could get out. I didn't take her phone; her phone was broken.
Reporter: What did you eat these past few days?
Li: Noodles and other foods. I ran out of money.
Reporter: Did you know she was climbing out the window?
Li: I was sleeping at the time. When I woke up at 2:00 AM, I realized she was gone. I saw the window was open, so I climbed to the window to look. There was no one, but the rope was still hanging. I pulled the rope back up...
Reporter: Why do you think things have come to this point between the two of you?
Li: It's still because of "money." She probably thinks I don't have enough money anymore.
By reporter Rongbo Qing