A year-plus-long family’s ordeal after their daughter was killed is nearing its conclusion, as the trial of the three suspects is set to get under way in the coming days. The victim’s father is calling for nothing less than the death penalty for his daughter’s murder.
In a grisly case which has attracted much public attention ever since, the 21-year-old female college student in Nanjing, surnamed Li, was murdered by her boyfriend and two others on 21 July, 2020, in Menghai County of Yunnan Province.
She had been lured there from Nanjing under false pretences by her boyfriend, surnamed Hong, together with two other male suspects, surnamed Cao and Zhang. It is believed that once there, Hong had instructed the others to kill Li.
Yesterday, the victim’s father, Li Shengchu, confirmed to the media that the murder case will now finally be heard, in the Intermediate People’s Court of Xishuangbanna Prefecture of Yunnan, on 17 December.
Family members of female college students in Nanjing close to the victim have revealed a possible motive for the three suspects to be an emotional dispute not long before the trip to Yunnan.
After the incident, Hong pretended to help Li’s parents to find their daughter and even accompanied them to Nanjing’s Maqun Police Station. Hong has since cited psychological issues, a claim rejected by public security organs and the Menghai County People’s Procuratorate, reports The Paper.
The three suspects were arrested on 4 September of last year. The Procuratorate revealed that Hong was accused of intentional homicide and theft, and Cao and Zhang of intentional homicide.
Li’s father has said that 1 year on after the loss of his daughter, their whole family remains in grief. Making it clear that he does not seek compensation, he said, “Murderers should pay with their life. We firmly demand that he be executed”.
At present, Li’s father has arrived in Xishuangbanna and has said he would go to the park where his daughter lost her life to have another look before the court session.
Meanwhile, he has also posted a letter from his wife to his daughter on social media. She wrote, “Baby, I’m sorry. We just want the law to give you a fair and just result. Let’s take you home and give you a place to rest”.
Even now, Li’s body remains in the morgue of the Menghai County Hospital.
“When the case is over, we’ll take her home”, said her father.