Woman ‘serial killer’ goes on trial for seven murders in China after 20 years on the run
- Lao Rongzhi tells court she had been in an abusive relationship and forced to take part in the killings by Fa Ziying who was executed for the crimes in 1999
- Some victims were lured to their deaths in nightclubs, while a three-year-old girl and her mother were killed during a robbery
A woman accused of killing seven people, including a three-year-old girl, went on trial in eastern China on Monday after 20 years on the run.
Lao Rongzhi, 46, apologised to the victims’ families but denied that her involvement was “intentional”, saying she had been in an abusive relationship and had been forced to take part in the crimes, according to local media reports.
A tearful Lao told Nanchang Intermediate People’s Court in Jiangxi province that she did not want to kill anyone and tried to break up with her boyfriend Fa Ziying many times, but he refused to let her leave. Fa was caught in July 1999 when collecting a ransom at the home of a victim in Anhui province and was executed five months later for murder, kidnapping and robbery.
“Fa Ziying often beat me, choked me and tortured me. He threatened my family if we broke up … I didn’t want to kill anyone. I just wanted to live,” Lao told the court, according to People’s Daily.
She told the court she had four abortions and her body was often covered in bruises, Red Star News reported.