Society

Family killer asks court for 'quick death'

By Li Jiabao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-13 08:06

BEIJING - A man who has confessed to killing six of his family members, including his two young sons, asked the judge to give him a quick death when he stood trial on Thursday.

Li Lei went on trial at the No 1 Intermediate People's Court of Beijing for murdering his parents, wife, younger sister and two sons on Nov 23, 2009, in the southern district of Daxing.

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The court heard that the incident started when Li quarreled with his wife, Wang Meiling. Li then stabbed her to death in their bedroom with a 30-centimeter knife he bought in 2008.

Li's younger sister and his parents became the next victims. Then the 30-year-old man stabbed to death his two sons, aged 2 and 6, in their sleep.

Li said he smoked cigarettes for a couple of hours before he made up his mind to kill his sons, the court heard.

He claimed that his sons would have had to live a hard life because they lost all their close family members.

The municipal police arrested Li on Nov 28 in Sanya, Hainan province.

Li said the idea of killing his family was in his head for a long time.

He claimed that his parents were too strict with him, even when he was a little boy. His younger sister, a college student in Beijing, also treated him harshly, he said.

Li said his wife set a time for him to come home every night after his work in a restaurant, and when he came home, she always took the money he had made. The pressure from the family finally overwhelmed him and led to the tragedy, he said.

Li Lei, who is accused of killing his parents, wife, younger sister and two sons, stands trial in a Beijing court on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010.[Chang Ming / Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court]

However, Li was known as an introverted but polite young man in his neighborhood, according to the testimony of Li's neighbors.

The public prosecutor, the No 1 branch of the Beijing People's Procuratorate, accused Li of intentional homicides and requested the court to bring the death penalty to Li in view of the severity of the crime.

Forensic examinations from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Public Security show that Li suffers no mental disease and fully understood his actions.

"Li has admitted all the details of the murder. My efforts just focus on a lighter sentence and the compensation amount for the civil claims by the victims' family members," Li's lawyer, Pan Zhidong, told China Daily.

However, when questioned on the details in court, Li often replied with "I have no memory" or "I forgot".

Li has suffered appendicitis three times over the past two months.

The court had planned to hear the case last Wednesday but rescheduled it because Li suffered an outbreak of acute appendicitis last week.

"Li has recovered well from the acute appendicitis and is in good condition now. But he is obviously in great pain and never wants to recall the accident any more," Pan said

Li wept several times when prosecutors showed the judge court record documents, including photos of the crime scene.

"I have no more words. I just hope the court gives me a quick death and puts an end to this as soon as possible," Li said calmly but loudly in his final statement.

Family members of the victims are claiming compensation of more than 4 million yuan ($597,000).

The property of Li's family is worth more than 5 million yuan, according to Pan.

The verdict will be pronounced later.