From1988 to 2002, 11 innocent young women were robbed, raped, disfigured and murdered in northwest China’s Baiyin city in Gansu Province and Baotou city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, in a serial murder remaining a mystery for over 28 years.
But on April 25, 53-year-old Gao Chengyong was finally prosecuted for the crimes, confirmed the local procuratorate in Gansu. The murderer was arrested in August last year, after one of his relatives committed a crime and underwent DNA testing in 2015, according to Xinhua News.
Portraits of the serial killer Gao Chengyong. /CCTVNEWS Photo
“He didn’t resist and fully cooperated,” said Zhu Aijun, Gao’s lawyer. “He admitted everything he did and didn’t ask for an appeal.”
Gao confessed to the police that he committed the first murder in 1988 by accident, when he tried to steal a radio from a 23-year-old woman asleep and ended up killing her after she woke up.
After the first homicide, Gao gained a sense of satisfaction from killing and carried out 10 more murders in the following 14 years, among them an 8-year-old girl.
If he found the victim attractive, Gao would rape the victim; otherwise he would just cut the victim’s throat. Asked about why he disfigured a victim, Gao said he would dismember whoever resisted him as an act of revenge, reported The Beijing News.
During the investigation, the serial killer could recall exhaustive details of all the murders he committed, said Wang Yang (pseudonym), a local police officer. “And he was way too calm, showing no regrets or guilt.”
According to US Federal Bureau of Investigation, the majority of serial killers have families instead of being social misfits who live alone, contrary to local police’s belief during the case’s initial investigation phase. In fact, Gao was married and has two children. The family, feeling ashamed, refused to meet with Gao’s lawyer.
Netizens on Weibo, China’s equivalent of twitter, responded to the case with fury and asked for justice.
“Even a death sentence is too easy on him,” @yishihuanyanmei said.
