Man who killed wife sentenced to death

A man who killed his 53-year-old wife was sentenced to death on Monday by the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

The accused, Xu Guoli, 55, was also ordered to pay 200,000 yuan ($31,000) to his wife's relatives as compensation.

Xu had previously confessed in court in May that he killed his wife, Lai Huili, while she was sleeping on the morning of July 5 last year due to "family conflicts", and then dismembered her and discarded her remains around the residential community where they lived.

According to Monday's verdict, Xu was "extremely vicious and ruthless" in the premeditated homicide, and had mercilessly dismembered his wife's dead body and lied to cover up his crime.

During the May trial, Xu, from Zhuji in Zhejiang, blamed frequent family conflicts for his actions, adding that the couple had grown apart for economic reasons. He said he had purchased knives and other tools in preparation.

Late on July 4 last year, he put sleeping pills in his wife's milk and later smothered her with a pillow. He then dismembered her in the toilet using a cutting tool he had bought.

Speculation about the circumstances surrounding Lai's mysterious disappearance went viral on the internet last July.

To ensure that no key evidence was overlooked, police in Hangzhou retrieved over 6,000 hours of surveillance videos from around the community, which were examined by 100 police officers.

The police also drained the community septic tank, where they found human tissue. DNA analysis tied the remains to the missing woman. Xu was arrested on July 23 last year.

Cai Jingwen contributed to this story.