China Executes Woman for Decades-Old Robbery and Murder Spree

Beijing, December 18: China‘s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) has confirmed the execution of Lao Rongzhi, who was convicted of murder, robbery, and abduction. The execution took place at the Intermediate People’s Court of Nanchang in Jiangxi province on Monday, following the approval of Lao’s death sentence by the SPC.

The statement from the SPC revealed that between 1996 and 1999, Lao Rongzhi, in collaboration with her then-boyfriend, committed a series of robberies, abductions, and murders across four provinces, resulting in the deaths of seven people. In one particular case, Lao was implicated in robbing, murdering, and mutilating the body of a male victim, along with her boyfriend. Subsequently, they also killed the victim’s spouse and two-year-old daughter during a robbery at their residence.

The SPC emphasized the extreme brutality and malice exhibited in Lao’s crimes, leading to severe consequences. The court stated that the verdicts issued in the first and second instance trials were appropriate, being based on sufficient evidence and following legal judicial processes.

Lao Rongzhi, who had been on the run for about 20 years using pseudonyms, was arrested in November 2019. In September 2021, she was sentenced to death by the Nanchang Intermediate People’s Court, a decision later upheld by the Higher People’s Court of Jiangxi province in November 2022 after the second instance trial.