On the morning of December 5th, the much-anticipated case of Lin Xiaohui's intentional homicide and theft was publicly announced in the Intermediate People's Court of Hanzhong. The defendant, Lin Xiaohui, was sentenced to death in the first trial by the court for intentional homicide, with lifelong deprivation of political rights; he was also sentenced to one year of fixed-term imprisonment for theft, with a fine of 2000 yuan. For both crimes combined, it was decided to carry out the death penalty, with lifelong deprivation of political rights.
Subsequently, Lin Xiaohui set fire to clothes, quilts, and other items along with the body in an attempt to destroy evidence. Mrs. Deng escaped harm as she went out for help after being injured. After committing the crime, Lin Xiaohui entered the home of village head Zhang through a window, stealing a motorcycle worth nearly 4000 yuan before fleeing. On September 29th of the same year, the public security organs captured Lin Xiaohui in an internet cafe in Hantai District, Hanzhong.
According to reports from Hanzhong (by reporter He Jie and correspondent Tang Zidan), due to his grandfather being refused passage through a neighbor's field, Lin Xiaohui killed his neighbor Deng and set fire to the body. He then broke into a house and stole a motorcycle before fleeing. On September 28th, 2005, Lin Xiaohui had been sentenced to six years of fixed-term imprisonment for robbery by the People's Court of Mian County and was released on parole in August 2009. Last September 26th afternoon, when Lin Xiaohui learned that his grandfather was denied passage through the crops of neighbor Deng, he went to Deng's house, causing trouble under the pretext of borrowing 500 yuan. After an argument ensued, Lin Xiaohui returned home to fetch a steel pipe, knocked down Mrs. Deng, struck Mr. Deng's head against the wall, and repeatedly hit him with the steel pipe, resulting in Deng's immediate death.