After a few minutes, the firefighters arrived at the fire scene and quickly put out the big fire. Afterwards, the firefighters found an old grandmother with white hair lying face down on the bed near the door in the east bedroom, and another naked elderly man lying on the ground by the bed in the northwest corner. Both elders had already died. There were a lot of bloodstains on the beds, pillows, and bedside tables inside the room. Both elders showed signs of having been struck on the head with a wooden stick, and the items in the room had been ransacked.
According to his confession, at around 1:00 AM on January 30th, after leaving the New Net Cafe on Yingxin Street, he went home separately with his friends Bai Moumou and Li Mou. On the way home, due to financial difficulties, he thought of Grandpa Li's house on the east side of the same row, which was relatively wealthy, and thus conceived evil intentions. During this time, Zhou Mou borrowed a small flashlight from Bai Moumou, saying that it was dark and he needed it for lighting the way home.
After the incident, the police department took it very seriously. The criminal investigation departments of Taiyuan City and Jiancaoping District closely cooperated and quickly established a special task force for the "1.30" case.
On the night of the eighth day of the first lunar month, Li Grandpa's house in the Qipingfang Dormitory Area on Datong Road in the provincial capital suddenly caught fire. The neighbors reported it to 119, and after the firefighters extinguished the fire, they discovered that Li Grandpa, aged 90, and his wife Grandma Yan, aged 86, were found dead in their home. There were signs that their heads had been struck with a wooden stick, and there was a lot of blood on the bed and pillow. Who could have committed such a cruel act against these two elderly people? Was it revenge killing or accidental harm? The case was shrouded in mystery...
After several twists and turns, it turned out that the killer was actually the son of a neighbor.
It is understood that the Qipingfang Dormitory Area is a cluster of old houses undergoing demolition. There are more than 400 households and over 2,000 residents, many of whom have already moved away, making the area populated by mixed groups of people. After the suspect committed robbery and murder, he set fire to the scene. The firefighters, while putting out the fire, caused some rescue-related damage to the scene, greatly increasing the difficulty of the investigation. The police officers said, "We can only use the most traditional methods to investigate house by house. We alone investigated more than 100 scrap collectors around the area." The police analyzed that the suspect must have used lighting equipment during the nighttime burglary and eventually locked onto Zhou Mou, who also lived in the Qipingfang Dormitory Area at No. 21, Row 3, as having significant suspicion of committing the crime based on a clue about a flashlight obtained during the investigation.
Subsequently, Zhou Mou sneaked to the rear window of Li Grandpa's house, forcibly pulling it open to attempt theft. During this process, Li Grandpa and Grandma Yan heard the noise, turned on the light, and prepared to get up. Upon seeing this, Zhou Mou panicked. Since they knew each other, he feared being exposed by Li Grandpa and thus brutally killed both elders. Afterwards, Zhou Mou robbed two rings, two silver bracelets, and 8,600 yuan in cash. He then placed newspapers on the bed, lit them, and fled through the rear window once the fire started.
It has now been confirmed that the suspect, Zhou Mou, male, 23 years old, lives at No. 349, Datong Road, Jiancaoping District, in Room No. 21, Row 3, of the Qipingfang Dormitory Area, and is unemployed.
At around 2:30 AM on January 30th (the eighth day of the first lunar month), the Lao Qu family living at No. 349, Datong Road, Taiyuan, were woken up from their sleep by the strong smell of smoke. After getting up, the wife checked her own home and found nothing amiss before stepping outside the yard. She then noticed that flames were coming out of the rear window of her neighbor Li Grandpa's house, so she quickly called 119 to report the emergency.
On the afternoon of February 3rd, Zhou Mou returned home with his girlfriend as if nothing had happened and was captured by the special task force police officers. Faced with questioning, Zhou Mou initially tried every trick to deny the accusations. According to the investigating police officer, Zhou Mou was known in his circle of friends as the "Little Strategist," full of ideas, and his method of committing the crime was quite skillful. After the incident, the self-confident Zhou Mou did not flee but continued to eat, drink, and play as usual, thinking the police would not suspect him. In the end, under solid evidence and relevant testimonies, Zhou Mou could no longer cover up his crimes and admitted to the facts. Thus, the "1.30" serious household robbery and murder case was successfully solved within just four days.
Upon hearing the news of the case being solved, Li Grandpa's family could not accept this reality. Li Grandpa's eldest son is already 68 years old, and his youngest child is 48. After the children came to the police station, they were so heartbroken that they could only express their gratitude to the police officers and couldn't say anything else. "None of us expected something like this to happen. He (referring to Zhou Mou) grew up under the watchful eyes of these two elders, and his parents usually took good care of our elders too," cried Li Grandpa's granddaughter.
It is understood that the deceased elders originally came from Henan Province and had lived in Taiyuan for most of their lives. They had six children, most of whom live in Taiyuan. The couple was physically healthy and lived independently, with their children regularly visiting. A large family with four generations living together and harmoniously got along well, yet shortly after the Spring Festival, they fell into deep sorrow.