Court upholds death sentence in killing of wife

In a second instance trial, the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court upheld the death sentence of a man who killed his 51-year-old wife in 2020.

Xu Guoli, 57, confessed in court last year that he killed his wife, Lai Huili, over "family conflicts" as she was sleeping.

Late on July 4, 2020, Xu put sleeping pills in his wife's milk and later smothered her with a pillow. He then dismembered her body and discarded the remains around the residential community where they lived.

Friday's verdict said that Xu was "extremely vicious and ruthless" in the premeditated homicide, and had fabricated false information to cover up his crime, which was extremely harmful to society.

Therefore, Xu's appeal and the defense request for acquittal or a light punishment were not accepted.

Fang Xiaoying in Hangzhou contributed to this story.