Chutian Metropolis Daily, by reporter Bai Yu, correspondent Zhang Qi
In an extremely cruel manner, Su Shilin killed three women and one boy in a period of one year and one month. On December 21st last year, the Intermediate People's Court of Xiangfan sentenced Su Shilin to death on charges of robbery, kidnapping, and intentional homicide, deciding to carry out the death penalty.
However, Su Shilin appealed, citing meritorious service as his reason. In May this year, the Hubei Provincial Higher People's Court held a hearing for this case. Subsequently, due to unclear facts and insufficient evidence, it was sent back to the Xiangfan Intermediate People's Court for retrial.
Yesterday, the Xiangfan Intermediate People's Court reopened the trial of this case.
Case Review
In one year and one month, four people were killed.
Born in 1973 in Zengdu District, Wandi Town, Suizhou City, Su Shilin graduated from Xiangfan Agricultural School's quarantine inspection major and worked at the Wandi Town Veterinary Station in Suizhou. Later, after unsuccessful business ventures, he came to Xiangfan to make a living.
According to the first instance investigation by the Xiangfan Intermediate People's Court, in November 2007, Su Shilin entered two households in Lüyingbi and Jijin Alley in Xiangcheng District under the pretext of checking water meters, committing robberies and brutally killing resident Li Mou in her home.
On January 5, 2008, Su Shilin lured the 21-year-old girl Meng Mou to his rented house on Danjiang Road, where he threatened her with a knife to hand over her bank card and then cruelly killed her.
In April 2008, Su Shilin used matrimonial advertisements to lure his girlfriend to his rented house, causing her to lose consciousness. He then sneaked into her home, stealing hundreds of yuan in cash and bank cards.
In late December 2008, Su Shilin kidnapped the son of Li Mou (female), demanding 20,000 yuan from her. After being refused, Su Shilin killed Li Mou, and the next day, he also killed her son, dismembering the body and discarding it.
Appeal
After the provincial high court's review, the case was sent back for retrial.
After the first-instance judgment, Su Shilin appealed, claiming that he voluntarily confessed to three cases, which constituted meritorious service.
On May 14th this year, the Hubei Provincial Higher People's Court held a hearing for Su Shilin's appeal in the Xiangfan Intermediate People's Court, during which Su Shilin admitted without reservation to part of his criminal acts.
During his final statement, Su Shilin said: "I have committed heinous crimes, but my physical organs are all good. After I am executed, I am willing to donate all my organs to society."
Unexpectedly, after the provincial high court's review, it was determined that the facts and evidence in Su Shilin's murder case were unclear and insufficient, so it was sent back to the Xiangfan Intermediate People's Court for retrial.
Reasons for Retrial
Unclear facts and insufficient evidence
The main reason the provincial high court sent the case back for retrial due to unclear facts and insufficient evidence was that Su Shilin's tools used in the killings were never found.
On November 13, 2009, Su Shilin went to Jijin Alley in Wangfu Mouth Community on Dong Street in Xiangcheng District, where he bound female victim Li Mou in the bedroom, killed her, and threw all the tools used in the crime into the Han River. This weapon was never found by the police.
At the end of 2008, Su Shilin met hairdresser Meng Mou on Renmin Road in Fan Cheng District, took her to his rented place, picked up a kitchen knife, and killed her. The body parts were packed in seven or eight black plastic bags and thrown into multiple trash bins along the roadside. These body parts were also never found.
Courtroom Observations
Reversal of confession, claiming another person is the real murderer
Yesterday, the Xiangfan Intermediate People's Court held the trial, with Su Shilin sitting in the defendant's chair supported by bailiffs.
After the prosecutor read out the indictment, Chief Judge Li Jiangping asked: "Su Shilin, do you have any objections to the facts charged in the indictment?" Su Shilin answered: "No."
When Chief Judge Li mentioned that "Su Shilin's suspected murder case was sent back for retrial due to unclear facts and insufficient evidence," Su Shilin suddenly raised his head.
Su Shilin said, "There are indeed wise people at the provincial high court; they can see through the intricacies of the case. I only committed two cases. One was in Lüyingbi, Xiangcheng District, and the other was in Suizhou. In both these cases, I did not kill anyone. The other few murder cases were not done by me but by someone else."
Chief Judge Li asked: "Then who do you say did it?"
Su Shilin replied, "If I reveal it, I will be retaliated against. Unless you can catch them all at once. Can you guarantee catching them all?"
Chief Judge Li said, "Your claims about others need evidence support. Can you be more specific?"
Su Shilin was speechless.
The prosecutor presented evidence for each of the five cases.
For the attempted robbery case in the Lüyingbi community of Xiangcheng and the kidnapping and robbery case in Suizhou, Su Shilin completely denied involvement.
Whenever evidence related to murder cases was presented, Su Shilin responded: "I don't know." Even when shown photos of crime scenes previously identified by Su Shilin with the police, he denied them.
Holding the file, Chief Judge Li read aloud: "Under the guidance of the prison officers, I voluntarily informed the police about several cases they did not yet know about. The home invasion robbery case in Jijin Alley, Xiangcheng, the killing of Meng Mou from Shiyan, and several cases in the city area were all done by me." After finishing, Chief Judge Li Jiangping held up the file and said, "This is written by your own hand. Are you now denying it?"
Su Shilin lowered his head, unable to respond.
When presenting evidence regarding Meng Mou's murder inside Su Shilin's house, the prosecutor presented bloodstain reports and DNA identification extracted from Su Shilin's house. Su Shilin said, "What is DNA? I don't understand it, zzfhhxy369_Baidu Space."
Regarding the presence of multiple deceased victims' bloodstains and human tissue in the house, Su Shilin said, "The house was rented by me, but I didn't kill anyone."
Prosecutor's Perspective
Severe punishment is necessary to appease public anger
Xiangfan City Procuratorate prosecutor Zou Zhongchao said that this case is a shocking series of robbery, kidnapping, and murder cases. The meticulous planning before the crime, the brutal means during the crime, and the malicious intentions afterward are extremely rare.
From the numerous crimes and bloody cases committed by Su, we can see various criminal behaviors driven by the defendant's deformed and twisted anti-social mentality. These actions severely disrupted social order, bringing unimaginable disasters to social stability, the safety of people's lives and property, and production safety.
Su Shilin treated the lives of the victims as grass, repeatedly using violence to rob and kill, employing extremely cruel methods. Without severe punishment, it would not be enough to appease public anger; without severe punishment, it would not be enough to console the souls of the four victims in heaven; without severe punishment, it would not be enough to heal the mental wounds of the victims' relatives; without severe punishment, it would not be enough to uphold justice, and even less to defend the dignity of the law.