Two elderly women, living in the same ancestral home, got into a fight, leaving their descendants to call it a "strange tale." The family reported that Huang's body was found lying at the door.
Southeast Network - Strait Times, May 6th (reporter: Zeng Bingguang, Yang Qingzhu) - A 99-year-old woman and a 97-year-old woman getting into a fight sounds unimaginable, but it happened. Even more shockingly, the 99-year-old accidentally killed the 97-year-old. This incident occurred in Longtan Village, Xiege Town, Jingcheng District, Nanjing County. The 97-year-old Huang and the 99-year-old Chen lived in the same ancestral house, with their bedroom doors directly facing each other. For some unknown reason, they quarreled, resulting in Huang being beaten to death and Chen sustaining injuries as well.
According to the criminal investigation team of Nanjing County, the incident was caused by trivial matters. Chen admitted that she had unintentionally killed someone. Currently, she has been released on bail and is under observation at the Central Health Center of Tiantao Town in Zhangzhou.
The daughter-in-law delivering dinner discovered her mother-in-law bleeding and lying on the ground.
At 5:30 PM on May 3rd, Li Molian, the young daughter-in-law of Huang, delivered dinner to her mother-in-law as usual. Upon entering the ancestral house, she found her mother-in-law lying face up on the ground, unresponsive, with a cracked forehead, blood covering the floor, and both arms severely damaged. Beside her, there were broken bricks soaked in blood.
Li Molian said she was terrified. At the time, Chen was sitting on the threshold, staring at the body on the ground. Considering the past disputes between the two elderly women, Li immediately suspected Chen. "I asked her why she had done such a terrible thing," Li recounted. After finishing her sentence, Chen suddenly pulled out a walking stick and struck Li's hand. Realizing the situation was dangerous, Li fled the scene while shouting "Murder!"
Soon after, the police arrived at the scene and confirmed that Huang had died. "My mother passed away so tragically; it took many bandages to secure her arms," said Li Abiao, Huang's youngest son. He added that when he reached the scene, he found his mother's feet still inside her room, while her body was lying face up in the shared hall.
Chen's grandson: Willing to pay for funeral expenses
Neighbors of the two elderly women said that Chen had an isolated personality and didn't get along well with most of the villagers. She lived alone in the ancestral house and cooked her own meals.
Li Abiao mentioned that the ownership of the ancestral house belonged to both families. His mother and Chen each occupied one room, with their doors directly facing each other. As the neighboring families gradually moved away, only these two old ladies remained. When they were younger, they occasionally had disputes, but now, with most of their peers having passed away, they were considered the longest-lived individuals in the community. Many people often visited his mother's house for casual chats, whereas "few people ever went to Chen's side."
"Only a few days ago, I saw them chatting together," another neighbor recalled. Due to their advanced age, their personalities were like those of children—today they might fight, but tomorrow they could enjoy sweets together again. No one expected such a tragedy to occur.
Chen's second grandson, Li Mouquan, expressed his astonishment, saying that with their combined ages nearing two hundred years, they were still fighting. He also described this as a "rare story in the world." Since both elderly women lived alone without close neighbors nearby, the situation wasn't detected in time, leading to this outcome. Li Mouquan stated that the three brothers in his family were willing to bear the funeral expenses for Huang.
Police: Legal procedures will be followed
Regarding this case, Captain Zhuang from the Criminal Investigation Team of Nanjing County noted that after years of handling cases, this was the first time he encountered such an incident. During the interrogation, Chen indeed admitted to unintentionally killing someone.
"Currently, we have placed her under bail and are observing her health condition in the hospital," Captain Zhuang explained. Despite her advanced age of 99, all legal procedures will still be followed strictly, regardless of her age.
In response, lawyer Ye Qingrui from Fujian Jingwei Ming Law Firm stated that although the amendment to the Criminal Law (No. 8) has increased and clarified leniency towards elderly offenders, stipulating that intentional crimes committed by those over 75 years old may result in lighter or reduced sentences, and negligent crimes should lead to lighter or reduced penalties. Unless particularly cruel means were used to cause death, those over 75 years old at the time of trial are not subject to the death penalty. However, this does not mean that crimes committed by those over 75 go unpunished. If elderly individuals over 75 possess criminal responsibility capacity, they must still bear criminal responsibility for their actions.