26-year-old matricide seeks to appeal death sentence

Wu Xieyu, a former Peking University student who was sentenced to death for multiple offenses last week, expressed his dissatisfaction with the judgment and will appeal to a higher court, his lawyer said.

Feng Min told online news outlet ThePaper, that Wu would be seeking an appeal after paying him a visit at the Fuzhou No 1 Detention House in Fujian province on Monday.

On Thursday, the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court handed down the death sentence to the 26-year-old for the crimes of intentional homicide, fraud and illegal identity card purchase. A fine of 103,000 yuan ($15,800) was also imposed.

The court said that Wu made preparations to murder his mother, Xie Tianqin, then aged 48, in early 2015 and bought tools online for the purpose after his father died of an illness.

On July 10 of that year, as Xie arrived home, Wu bludgeoned her repeatedly over the head and in the face with a dumbbell, causing her death. He then wrapped her body in 75 layers, including bedsheets, plastic sheets, as well as anti-odorant and activated carbon bags, the court said.

To cover up the murder, Wu borrowed 1.44 million yuan from relatives and friends, claiming that he needed the money as he was going abroad to study and his mother planned to accompany him, but then squandered it all.

In an attempt to conceal his identity and avoid arrest, Wu later purchased 10 different ID cards.

Xie's body was found in her apartment in the faculty dormitory of a middle school on Feb 14, 2016, after relatives became suspicious when they were unable to get in touch with her.

Following an investigation, local police named Wu as the suspect, and in March 2016 offered a reward for information leading to his arrest.

On the run for more than three years, Wu was finally caught in Chongqing in April 2019, and stood trial in December 2020.

When announcing the ruling on Thursday, the court said that Wu's crimes were heinous and deserved severe punishment and that by killing his mother, he had seriously violated family ethics, trampled on normal human emotions and negatively affected society.