Xiong Zhenlin

Case record: Xiong Zhenlin

Background

Xiong Zhenlin was a Chinese junk dealer and the owner of a junkyard in Suizhou, Hubei. Xiong was described as a junk collector and salvage operation worker. He was 35 years old in January 2009 and was later described as 32 and then 35 in different accounts.

Xiong had wanted to marry Zhu Deqing, who had refused. After Xiong divorced his former wife, he hoped to marry Zhu. After Zhu turned him down, Xiong wanted to make up with his former wife but she too rejected him.

Xiong later wrote three letters expressing remorse. He told police that he would donate his organs if sentenced to death.

Xiong’s mother, 73-year-old Zhan Hongying, did not appear in court because she “could not face the victim’s family”.

The offence

Xiong killed eight people in Luoyang Town, Suizhou. The victims included:

• Zhu Deqing, a widow aged 43.
• Zou Chuanshuo, a 2-year-old boy.
• Six additional victims: three men and three women aged between 45 and 69, who worked at Xiong’s waste collection depot.

Police stated that their head wounds suggested the attacker used an axe. Police also said bloodstained axes and hammers were found on the premises.

One account stated that police said Xiong used an ax, a brick and a harpoon to kill his victims.

Investigators discovered six other bodies after searching Xiong’s junkyard, and it was not clear when those six were killed. Two of the victims had learning difficulties. Police said three victims had conflicts with him in the past, and one was a local resident who had gone to sell waste products.

Xiong told police that he planned to kill nine other people he had fought with in the past, including his ex-wife Liu Jihua.

The motive was described as revenge in the case framing, and police said they were yet to find out his motive behind the killings.

Investigation

Police in Hubei Province offered a cash reward for information leading to the apprehension and conviction of the killer of eight people, including a two-year-old boy.

A resident in Wuhan called police at 9:30 a.m. Sunday after spotting a man resembling Xiong Zhenlin, who had been hunted by police and listed as the most wanted suspect.

Police stated that two police officers found the man sitting at a junk collection station in Jianghan District at 11:18 a.m. He tried to escape at the sight of the policemen but was seized and taken to the police station, where he confessed he was Xiong Zhenlin.

Police searched Xiong’s junkyard and found six more bodies as well as blood-tainted axes and hammers. Investigators named Xiong as a suspect.

Hu Liangzhi, Suizhou’s vice-chief prosecutor, told Xinhua that, based on an investigation, Xiong did not have a history of mental illness. Hu also said that Xiong had been determined and cruel when committing the murders and had shown cunningness in running away.

“Although I want to save his life, the law will not allow it and the victims' family will definitely not allow him to live on as he committed such a great sin ”
Zhan Hongying, Xiong’s mother, quoted by Xinhua

Arrest

Xiong was seized in Wuhan’s Jianghan District after a resident called police at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.

Police stated that Xiong confessed to the killings and that he killed eight people in Luoyang Town and fled to Hainan Province in the south the next day. Xiong was handed over to police authorities in Suizhou Sunday afternoon.

Trial

A half-day trial took place in the Intermediate People’s Court in Suizhou, which ordered that Xiong Zhenlin be put to death.

Xiong appealed the death sentence. His lawyer asked the intermediate people’s court of Suizhou to assess Xiong’s mental health, but the appeal was rejected.

Xiong had asked the court to take into account that he was filled with remorse. The Legal Evening News reported that Xiong’s letters expressed remorse and claimed he was not a bad person but had simply made a mistake after suffering setbacks in his career and personal life.

Xiong argued that his mental state should be assessed because he had been suffering from insomnia during the second half of last year and said he deserved to live.

Sentencing

Xiong Zhenlin was sentenced to death on February 9, 2009.

Appeals

Xiong appealed the sentence. His requests for an assessment of his mental health were rejected.

Timeline

• Jan. 4, 2009 — Xiong killed his victims in the town of Luoyang, Suizhou, Hubei.
• Jan. 6, 2009 — Police in Hubei offered a cash reward for information leading to the conviction of the killer of eight people, including a two-year-old boy.
• Jan. 11, 2009 — Police in Hubei said they had seized a man suspected of killing eight people and that he confessed to the killings; the man was identified as Xiong Zhenlin.
• Feb. 8, 2009 — A Suizhou court sentenced Xiong Zhenlin to death after a half-day trial.
• Feb. 9, 2009 — Xiong’s death sentence was described as ordered in Hubei province.
• Feb. 9, 2009 — Xiong was executed after being sentenced to death.

Other details

Xiong’s mother was described as 73-year-old Zhan Hongying.

The reward offered for Xiong’s capture was described as 50,000 yuan, and the reward for information leading to conviction was also described in separate accounts as up to 50,000 yuan and 5,000 yuan.

Xiong was described as having confessed after his arrest in Wuhan, Hubei’s capital.

The Supreme People’s Court in Beijing reviewed death penalties before they were carried out.

Xiong was quoted as saying he would donate his organs if sentenced to death.