The series of robbery and murder cases created by the Xuxiaoming criminal gang have attracted attention from many media outlets. The photo shows the police confiscating ill-gotten money and goods. Photographed by Wang Ying.
Facing the interview, Xuxiaoming appeared very relaxed, with an expression of complete indifference. Photographed by Wang Ying.
■ Huang Juan, Intern Peng Jing, Communicator Kong Yi
A 45-year-old wealthy businessman from Jiangxi, Mr. Shaojianping (a pseudonym), suddenly disappeared after coming to Changsha to meet his "girlfriend." The Changsha Public Security Bureau subsequently uncovered a brutal murder and dismemberment case. The perpetrators turned out to be his post-90s "girlfriend" and her other boyfriend. Poor Shaojianping, who was infatuated with his young girlfriend, did not know until his death why he had fallen victim to her hands. Even more unimaginable for him was that his previous generosity—giving her a car, a house, and a 500,000 yuan savings card—had planted the seeds of greed that led to his demise.
On April 27, the Changsha police announced the details of the case.
The disappearance of a 45-year-old wealthy businessman from Jiangxi
On February 23, a 44-year-old man from Jiangxi, Mr. He, reported to the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Changsha Municipal Public Security Bureau that his classmate, Mr. Shaoyuanping, had gone missing after arriving in Changsha.
Mr. Shaoyuanping, 45 years old, was the general manager of a lighting engineering company in Xinyu, Jiangxi. After meeting his 20-year-old girlfriend in Changsha, he gave her a car, a house, and a 500,000 yuan savings card. His sudden disappearance raised suspicions. After receiving the report, the Changsha police investigated and discovered that Mr. Shaoyuanping's bank card had been used for abnormal large withdrawals and purchases at ATMs and malls in Shaoguan, Guangdong, on February 21 and 22, 2011. At the same time, both Mr. Shaoyuanping's and his "girlfriend's" phones were off, and their whereabouts were unknown.
"The signs indicate that this is either a murder or a kidnapping case," the Criminal Investigation Brigade quickly initiated an investigation mechanism for suspected victims of missing persons and began investigating the case.
The post-90s girlfriend has major suspicion of committing the crime
On February 25, the special task force officers rushed to Shaoguan, Guangdong, searching for any clues left by the suspects. After three days of investigation, they found that the person using Mr. Shaoyuanping's bank card for withdrawals and purchases was a young woman who wore a mask and glasses as disguises. The police confirmed that the woman was named Pan, 24 years old, from Pingjiang, and rented a sixth-floor apartment in Baonan Street, Furong District, Changsha.
At the same time, the police discovered that Mr. Shaoyuanping had been seen on January 11 in a room on the 15th floor of Building H in Tianjian Furong Shengshi, Kaifu District, Changsha. The owner of the room said that the tenant was a young woman named Peng Biying, 20 years old, an intern nurse at a large hospital in Changsha. On February 21st, Peng suddenly vacated the apartment and moved out, claiming she would go to work at a hospital in Guangdong. At this point, there was still one and a half months left on her lease agreement.
Peng Biying's departure from Changsha coincided with the time Mr. Shaoyuanping went missing. The special task force determined that she had significant suspicion of committing the crime and decided to pursue her.
Both murderers have "criminal records"
The special task force quickly located Peng Biying and her boyfriend "Xuyano" and captured them successively.
Through Peng Biying's confession, the special task force learned that "Xuyano's" real identity was Xu Xiaoming, 38 years old, from Zhuzhou. He had been sentenced to two years in prison for theft in 1993 and eleven years in 2001, being released in 2009. With his fake identity exposed, Xu Xiaoming soon confessed to conspiring with Hu Zhixiong and Peng Biying to rob and murder Mr. Shaoyuanping and dismember his body.
Upon investigation, it was found that another suspect, Hu Zhixiong, also from Zhuzhou, had been sentenced to three years in prison for theft in 1993 and two years for extortion in 1998. On March 10, the police arrested him in Changsha.
Case Review
Pretending to be the girlfriend's cousin and setting up a home banquet, taking advantage of the opportunity to commit murder
In October 2010, Xu Xiaoming met Peng Biying while his mother was being treated at the hospital where she was interning, and they developed a romantic relationship. Peng admitted to having a lover relationship with the victim, Mr. Shaoyuanping, and said that he was very wealthy, buying her a car, a house, and a 500,000 yuan savings card, and even promising her 1 million yuan. On February 15, 2011, Xu called his accomplice Hu Zhixiong to come to Changsha for a meeting and plotted to rob Mr. Shaoyuanping. If the robbery failed, they would kill him to silence him.
On February 19, Mr. Shaoyuanping flew from Shanghai to Changsha. Xu Xiaoming pretended to be Peng Biying's cousin and invited Mr. Shaoyuanping to a home banquet, deceiving him into a rental apartment in a neighborhood on Nanhu Road in Tianxin District. Hu Zhixiong disguised himself as a chef. Xu and Hu got Mr. Shaoyuanping drunk, drugged him, and strangled him to death, finding two bank cards on him. Xu then found Pan (his other girlfriend) that night, handed over the bank cards and passwords to her, and instructed her to withdraw money in Shaoguan, Guangdong.
Although the truth behind Mr. Shaoyuanping's murder has come to light, the case is not yet over. As investigations deepened, more identities of suspect Xu Xiaoming emerged: a special forces soldier, a butcher... More astonishingly, over the past 13 years, he committed eight robbery-murder cases in places like Shenzhen, Dongguan in Guangdong Province, Zhuzhou and Changsha in Hunan Province, Qingdao in Shandong Province, and Jiujiang in Jiangxi Province, resulting in the deaths of 11 people.
For 13 years, he killed at least 11 people
"The premeditation and preparation for the crimes were thorough. The suspect frequently used aliases, was skilled in dismemberment techniques, and cruelly avoided surveillance cameras in public places," Deputy Director Ou Yike of the Changsha Municipal Public Security Bureau stated. Various signs indicated that the dismemberment case concealed more major cases.
Indeed, through further investigation, Xu Xiaoming was found to have collaborated with suspects Hu Zhixiong, Wei Xianfa, Liao Huachun, Jiang Haihui, Xiao Chenghe, and others to commit robbery-murder cases in Zhuzhou, Hunan; Dongguan and Shenzhen, Guangdong; Qingdao, Shandong; and Mount Lu, Jiangxi between 1998 and 2010. They robbed and murdered 11 people, stole property worth millions of yuan, and sold items belonging to the victims valued at over 400,000 yuan, including cars and properties. Below are some of the bloody crimes he committed:
● In the first half of 1998, Xu Xiaoming worked in a bicycle factory in a certain industrial area in Shunde, Foshan, Guangdong Province. Under the pretext of doing bicycle raw material business, he lured a male coworker (about 20 years old, from Hengyang) and his female friend (about 20 years old, from Yuanjiang, Yiyang) to an abandoned dormitory of a steel mill in Zhuzhou. Collaborating with suspect Hu Zhixiong, they strangled the couple to death, buried their bodies in nearby barren mountains, and stole cash amounting to over 40,000 yuan.
● Before the Spring Festival in 1999, Xu Xiaoming conspired with suspects Liao Huachun and Xiao Chenghe to lure a woman, Ms. Lin, whom they met at Sihai Park in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, to a rental apartment in Nanshan Village. After strangling her to death, they took 30,000 yuan from her savings account.
● Between 1999 and 2000, Xu Xiaoming colluded with Wei Xianfa to stop a taxi near the Shenzhen Wildlife Zoo. Armed with a replica Type 54 pistol and rocks, they knocked the taxi driver unconscious, stole the taxi, and later dismantled and sold its parts, earning 26,000 yuan.
● In May 2009, after Xu Xiaoming met a woman named Ms. Li in Dongguan, he conspired with suspect Hu Zhixiong to strangle her to death, dismember her body, and bury it in a forest in Dongcheng District, Dongguan. Surprisingly, after the murder, Xu Xiaoming calmly found a “escort girl” in Dongguan who resembled the victim Ms. Li. Using this “escort girl” to impersonate Ms. Li, he sold her property for 300,000 yuan.
...
All 8 suspects have been apprehended
After learning about these serious cases, the special task force successively arrested Wei Xianfa, Liao Huachun, and Jiang Haihui in Zhuzhou, Huaihua, and Shaoguan. A replica Type 64 pistol and three bullets were found during a search of Jiang Haihui’s home. On the evening of April 21, the police arrested suspect Xiao Chenghe in a rental apartment in Meiling, Shenzhen.
Currently, all 8 suspects have been legally criminally detained. The special task force is verifying the criminal facts of the multiple murders, drug trafficking, robberies, and thefts committed by the Xu Xiaoming gang across six cities in four provinces: Hunan, Guangdong, Shandong, and Jiangxi.
Dialogue
"Do I, someone like me, even have a heart?"
On April 27, Xu Xiaoming was seen at the First Detention Center in Changsha. Facing the cameras, Xu Xiaoming's lips curled upward, and instead of answering, he smiled. His smile was somewhat eerie and filled with contempt.
"Do you know why so many people are here to take your picture?" "Because the case is too big, and I've killed too many people." "Why did you kill those people?" "To make a living."
The four words that came out without hesitation made everyone present freeze in shock. The calm and composed demeanor of this murderer in front of the camera was chilling. Without asking, Xu Xiaoming spoke freely, recounting his life.
"I was a mercenary in Myanmar. After returning to China, I wanted to kill anyone I saw. I was 21 when I killed my first person, a drug dealer who deserved it. Afterward, I stole 35 pounds of white powder."
"I killed for money. I thought other people's money belonged to me."
Xu Xiaoming's arrogance angered everyone present.
"Many people describe your behavior as insane. What do you think?"
"I think it's very appropriate to describe me as devoid of conscience."
"Do you think the people you killed were innocent?"
"Innocent."
"Don't you feel sorry for them?"
"Do I, someone like me, even have a heart?"