The court ascertained after trial that Xin and Gao had conspired to commit robbery, and on the night of August 3, 2010, near 11 PM, at the Hanting chain hotel near the Zhaogongkou long-distance bus station in Fengtai District, they intercepted the 27-year-old victim Li who was passing by. Li, a migrant worker from Jieyang, Guangdong, had just won a 9.93 million yuan lottery jackpot.
Xin and Gao fled the scene after seizing Li's backpack, which contained 3,200 yuan in cash and a Nokia mobile phone valued at 1,120 yuan. Within 26 hours of the incident, Xin and Gao were apprehended by the Fengtai Public Security Bureau in Langfang, Hebei Province.
According to Xin’s statement, he had come to Beijing looking for a job but was swindled out of his money by a labor intermediary. On the evening of the incident, he went to an ATM machine at a nearby bank to withdraw money to go home but found less than 100 yuan in his account, making it impossible to withdraw any money. By this time, the bank had already closed. Feeling lost, he started chatting with Gao, who was sitting on the steps of the bank. They discovered their similar experiences: both had been defrauded while searching for jobs and were left almost penniless.
Claiming they were job seekers swindled out of their money, Xin and Gao decided to rob someone to gather enough money for travel expenses back home. When the 27-year-old white-collar woman Li was walking alone, they attacked her with knives, and in her resistance, they stabbed her to death.
"Without money, how can we go home? If not, let's rob!" Xin suggested committing robbery, and Gao nodded in agreement. They decided to carry out the crime in the vicinity.
The court ruled that there was no evidence proving whether the two defendants had indeed been defrauded before committing the robbery. Even if they were deceived, it could not serve as a justification for committing robbery, nor as a reason for leniency in sentencing. Based on this, the court handed down the aforementioned verdict.
Xin threatened Li with a sharp knife, and Gao seized the opportunity to snatch her backpack. After Li resisted, Xin stabbed her multiple times in the chest, back, and left upper limb with the knife, causing her death due to ruptures in her heart and liver.
According to Xin's confession, they chose Li because her backpack was very noticeable. They believed she looked wealthy based on her "aura." Although other single women had passed by earlier, Xin and Gao did not act as they judged these women to be less affluent based on their clothing.
Xin, 22 years old, is a farmer from a village in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. Gao, just 20 years old, is a farmer from Hejian City, Hebei Province.
Xin's defense counsel argued that Xin usually behaved well, and only after being deceived while job hunting in Beijing did he contemplate committing a crime. Thus, he was considered a first-time offender and occasional criminal.
● Victim
Li's parents demanded that the two defendants compensate them over 600,000 yuan for damages including death compensation and funeral expenses.
Even if they were deceived, it cannot be a reason for leniency in sentencing.
Li had already decided to resign and return to work in her hometown in Henan before the incident occurred. The day before the incident, she called home saying she was prepared to resign and return to work in her hometown in Henan. During the trial, Li's parents requested severe punishment for the two defendants.
● Court Proceedings
Gao's defense counsel claimed that Gao was indirectly led to commit the crime after being deceived, showing little subjective malice, remorse, and being a first-time, occasional offender, deserving a lighter sentence.
● Defendants
It was reported this morning that the Second Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Xin and Gao to death for robbery in the first instance trial and ordered them to compensate Li's parents for more than 600,000 yuan in losses.
With similar misfortunes, the two men met by chance and decided to rob someone. Seeing a woman with an air of wealth, they acted. Both perpetrators received the death penalty for the murder of a woman near Zhaogongkou.