China: two sentenced in decades-old murder case in Sichuan

Nearly 30 years after killing a woman and burying her body in a flower bed in Luzhou, Sichuan province, two defendants were sentenced on Nov. 10, 2026.

The Luzhou Intermediate People's Court sentenced a defendant surnamed Chen to death for intentional homicide, forging identity cards, using forged documents and illegally crossing national borders. Chen was also sentenced to lifelong deprivation of political rights and fined 27,000 yuan ($4,020).

The other defendant, surnamed Yang, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for intentional homicide and lifelong deprivation of political rights.

In China, death sentences imposed by lower courts must be submitted to the Supreme People's Court, the country's top court, for review and approval before they can be carried out.

Under Chinese law, a death sentence with a two-year reprieve is generally commuted to life imprisonment if the offender commits no new intentional crime during the reprieve period. The sentence may be further reduced for good behavior in prison.

According to a statement released by the court, the case dates back to 1996, when Chen borrowed 40,000 yuan from a woman surnamed Wu, promising to repay the money by the following Spring Festival.

In early 1997, Chen suggested to Yang, who was her husband at the time, that they kill Wu to avoid repaying the debt. Yang agreed.

On Feb 1 that year, Chen lured Wu to a warehouse under the pretext of repaying the money and signaled Yang to attack. Yang strangled Wu to death while she was counting the cash. That night, the two buried Wu's body in a flower bed on the roof of a building.

Chen later submitted false supporting documents to obtain household registration records and identity cards in May 2004, March 2011 and January 2025, respectively.

From 2008 to 2025, using these false identities, she obtained passports, travel permits for Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and other documents. She repeatedly used them to book flights and train tickets, stay in hotels, communicate with others and purchase apartments, among other activities. She also illegally crossed the border to South Korea, the United States and other overseas destinations.

According to a report by China Central Television, the case attracted public attention in June 2025, when workers discovered human remains, shoes and clothing during drainage work. DNA testing confirmed that the remains belonged to Wu.

Investigators initially identified Chen as a suspect and later found that her former husband, Yang, was also suspected of involvement in the crime. The two were apprehended by police in Shanghai in October 2025.

The court heard the case on July 10. In its ruling announced Nov. 10, it found Chen and Yang guilty of intentional homicide, while Chen was also convicted of document forgery and illegally crossing national borders.

The court said Chen had played the leading role in planning the murder to evade the debt and luring Wu to her death, while Yang had directly carried out the killing.

After the two were apprehended, their families paid Wu's family 120,000 yuan in compensation, according to the court.

The court said Chen had failed to truthfully confess to her crimes, describing her motives as "extremely vile" and the consequences as "extremely serious". It said these factors did not warrant a lighter sentence despite the compensation.

Yang was given leniency because he had confessed frankly and cooperated with the investigation, the court said.