Murder and rape couple tried in NE China

A couple accused of luring a teenager to their home then raping and killing her went on trial on Thursday in Jiamusi city, in northeast China's Heilongjiang province.

The Jiamusi Intermediate People's Court heard how Tan Beibei lured a 17-year-old girl to her home by pretending to have pains in her abdomen and asking her for help on July 24 last year. She then drugged the girl for her husband to rape. The two then killed the girl and buried her body in a rural area.

Procuratorate has charged Tan and her husband with murder, rape and robbery. The trial was not a public hearing, as the victim was a minor.

Tan gave birth to a boy in August last year while in police custody. The child has been sent to a local welfare center, after the couple and their relatives gave up custody.