Yang Xinhai: The Monster Serial Killer of China
Written By: LFG
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Early Life
Born in 1968, Yang Xinhai is a native of Zhengyang County in Henan, China. He had a rough childhood growing up as his family struggled financially and was considered among the poorest in their area.
When he was seventeen, he stopped schooling and ran away from home. Yang was like a drifter who traveled around the country to work as a laborer. According to some of his relatives, he used to write stories about murder. He also apparently enjoyed coming up with strange ideas that he believed would make for a great film.
The Vile Crimes of Yang Xinhai
Before becoming a serial killer, Yang already had a long history of crimes. In the early nineties, he was arrested for theft and sentenced to work in various labor camps. He also went to prison for five years for an attempted rape case in 1996.
After his release, Yang began his killing spree that took place over the course of three years. His girlfriend reportedly left him prior, which might have triggered his change in behavior. He first murdered two people in their home, stealthily attacking at night. This would eventually become his pattern in the subsequent murders he was about to commit.
Most of his victims were farmers, but he had no qualms in killing regardless if it’s a child or an adult. He was also known to target entire families and rape the females before killing them.
One of these families was that of Henan-native, Liu Zhongyuan. According to the patriarch, he found his entire family bludgeoned inside their house. He shared that he did not sleep at home that night as he was at the new house they were supposed to move into in three days. He found his wife alive but only barely. She died a few days later at the hospital for multiple injuries.
Yang’s usual murder weapon was any sharp object that lay around his victim’s home, typically either an ax, meat cleaver, or even a shovel. In this particular case, he used an iron hammer that he disposed of by burying it.
From 1999 to 2003, he killed over sixty-seven people and raped twenty-three women, including a pregnant woman, across four provinces in China. For every instance, he would make it a point to wear bigger shoes and new clothes, including cleaning up the crime scene after to avoid getting caught.
The Arrest
Yang was picked up by the police after acting slightly suspicious in one routine inspection in November 2003. The authorities questioned him, and they were shocked to discover that Yang was wanted for murders in four provinces.
The arrest caused a media frenzy throughout the country, and he was immediately dubbed as “China’s monster killer.” Surprisingly, Yang openly accepted his fate and confessed to all crimes he committed. In Henan province alone, he murdered forty-nine people, raped seventeen women, and physically injured ten. Meanwhile, he killed six and raped two in Anhui province. As for Hebei province, he raped three and killed eight people. Lastly, his killing spree also reached Shandong, taking two lives and raping one woman.
When asked for the reason behind these vicious acts, Yang chillingly said he never cared much for society, and that this is something he simply enjoys doing.
Yang’s DNA was all over the different crime scenes, and it further proved his guilt on top of his confession. The medical inspection also showed that he got infected with HIV from one of his rape victims.
Where Is Yang Xinhai Now?
Due to the compelling evidence against Yang, the trial did not last long, and he was immediately sentenced to death. However, due to the sensitivity of the case, the media and the public were prohibited inside the Luohe City Intermediate People’s Court.
Yang was executed through firing squad on February 14, 2004, less than four months after his arrest. To this day, citizens of China are still left shocked at how a simple provincial man could commit such heinous crimes.
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