Firefighters used a safety net to pull the deceased up to the rooftop. The photos in this edition were taken by reporter Xuebai Hu. Policemen were investigating the air conditioning guardrail that the deceased had climbed.
At around 8:40 PM on the night before last, at Unit 1 of Building 29 in the South District of the Yanshan Residential Area in Shijingshan District, a man climbed from the window ledge of his 11th floor apartment along the air conditioning guardrail up to the 27th floor where he hanged himself to death. Prior to this, the man had stabbed his wife to death at home.
Yesterday, after further interviews with reporters, it was learned that the tragedy was caused by family trivialities. The two victims were originally university classmates and worked in the same system.
■ Follow-up
Climbing sounds were suspected to be a thief
At dawn yesterday, there was more activity around Building 29 than usual, with neighborhood security and police busy at the scene of the incident. A female owner returning late to her residence witnessed the man hanging from the top floor and was too afraid to go upstairs alone, so she immediately asked her family to come down and meet her.
Building 29 in the South District of the Yanshan Residential Area has a total of 27 floors, with air conditioning guardrails placed beside the south-facing windows, arranged in a stepped pattern.
At 11 o'clock yesterday morning, reporters revisited the residential area, where residents were discussing this tragic case. A resident living on the 20th floor of Unit 1 of Building 29 said that at around 8 o'clock the previous evening, her daughter suddenly noticed a shadow moving upwards while in the south-facing room, accompanied by stomping sounds, "I thought it was a thief at first." Her daughter opened the window and found a man climbing along the air conditioning guardrail, "I couldn't see his face, only his feet." Upon seeing this, the daughter quickly informed the property management. After discovering someone climbing the building, a security guard called the police.
Yesterday, reporters attempted to interview the deceased's relatives, but no one was home.
■ Investigation
The tragedy stemmed from family trivialities
According to informed sources, the man hanged himself to death, having previously killed his wife at home. His wife lay on the bed in the bedroom with a knife wound on her neck. The two had previously had conflicts over trivial matters, but there were no major issues in their relationship. The man's parents lived with them but were not at home when the incident occurred, and they were shocked to learn of the deaths of their son and daughter-in-law. This tragedy left their six-month-old daughter without parents.
From the neighborhood committee, we learned that the man's surname was Duan, aged 30, and his wife's surname was Wang, aged 31. A few years ago, the couple bought a commercial property in the residential area.
■ Aftermath
Using a safety net to collect the body
The place where the hanged man was located was at the west corner of the 27th floor of Building 29. Some residents said that the nearest household to the hanging body was a married couple, who left on the night of the incident after discovering a body hanging outside their window, returning home the next morning, "Possibly out of fear." When reporters tried to inquire with the homeowners, they were refused.
It is understood that at around 2 AM yesterday, firefighters from the Galaxy Fire Station arrived at the scene and used safety nets and other tools to carry away the bodies. At around 3 AM, the bodies were transported away by a funeral vehicle.
■ Introduction of the Deceased
The couple were university classmates
At around 2 PM yesterday afternoon, a classmate of Mr. Duan made a phone call at the scene of the incident. After confirming that the incident happened at Mr. Duan's home, his eyes turned red. According to him, both Mr. Duan and his wife were from out of town, classmates at a prestigious university in Beijing, both holding graduate degrees, and working in the aerospace system, "Both worked in the same compound, and their evaluations from the unit were very high."
He said, "The couple usually got along well; it must have been that neither would back down during arguments, leading to such an extreme situation!" Mr. Duan had an open personality, and there had been no reports of significant conflicts between the two, "During class reunions, he even brought his wife along." Two days prior, this classmate, who lived in the same neighborhood as Mr. Duan, had seen the deceased, "Before I went on a business trip, I directly handed my keys over to him." This classmate vividly remembered everything from when Mr. Duan's wife was pregnant to the birth of their child. He tried knocking on Mr. Duan's door but eventually left quietly.
■ Expert Opinion
Family functions should be valued
Professor Xia Xueluan of the Department of Sociology at Peking University stated that in recent years, the number of tragic cases caused by family trivialities has increased somewhat, which is related to people's restless mentality. Many people, in the pursuit of material desires, have weakened self-discipline, making individuals increasingly self-centered.
"The weakening of family functions is an important cause of family tragedies," Professor Xia Xueluan said. In today's society, families are no longer independent economic units. Family function refers to the mutual communication and integration among family members, generating happiness. When family functions cannot be properly performed, family members cannot live harmoniously. Professor Xia Xueluan stated that when family functions fail, problems are prone to erupt in extreme ways.
Professor Xia Xueluan said that politics, law, economy, education, religion, and family are the six major systems existing in society, among which the family is the most fundamental system. As people's pace of life accelerates, the importance of families is gradually decreasing, which is a dangerous signal. He suggests that modern people "return to the family, and re-maintain and improve the functions of the family."
Reporters Jing Li, Xuemei Sun, Yi Mu, and intern reporter Hai Lei Huang