Female serial killer Lao Rongzhi executed

Female serial killer Lao Rongzhi was executed on Monday after China's top court approved her death sentence.

The execution was carried out by the Nanchang Intermediate People's Court in Jiangxi province, where Lao was convicted of intentional homicide, robbery and kidnapping and given the death penalty.

Lao apologized to the victims' family members and was allowed to meet her relatives before the execution, the court said, adding that the execution process was placed under the supervision of local prosecutors.

The 49-year-old native of Jiangxi, who used to be a primary school teacher, came into the spotlight for her involvement in seven killings in the 1990s.

After two decades on the run using aliases, she was eventually caught in a shopping mall in Xiamen, Fujian province, in November 2019.

Two years later, she was sentenced to death by the intermediate court for the three charges. The convictions and penalty were upheld by the Jiangxi High People's Court in November 2022.

In China, a death sentence made by lower courts has to be submitted to the Supreme People's Court for review. The sentence can only be carried out after it is approved by the top court.

To fully protect Lao's legal rights, the top court interrogated Lao during the review period. Her lawyer was given permission to access case material, meet Lao and submit defense opinions.

According to the top court, Lao worked with her boyfriend Fa Zi--ying to commit the robberies, kidnappings and killings in the provinces of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui from 1996 to 1999. Lao was responsible for picking targets at entertainment venues, while Fa violently attacked them. Their actions caused seven deaths, including a child, and the bodies of some victims were abused.

In Nanchang, for example, Lao lured a victim surnamed Xiong to her rented apartment, where she and Fa jointly robbed Xiong of his belongings, killed him and dismembered his body.

Lao used a key she stole from Xiong to open his home, and together with Fa robbed the residence. In order to eliminate witnesses, the pair also killed Xiong's wife and 2-year-old daughter.

Lao escaped when Fa was seized by police at a rented house in Anhui in 1999. Fa received a death sentence and was executed later that year.

While clarifying that Lao's behaviors constituted the crimes of intentional homicide, robbery and kidnapping, the top court stressed the crucial role she played in the multiple killings, saying she should be punished as a principal offender.

It revealed that the sum of money Lao and Fa robbed and extorted was more than 100,000 yuan ($14,000).

"The circumstance of Lao's crimes was particularly egregious, and her criminal methods were extremely cruel," it said. "With deep subjective malice, she posed great personal and social danger, bringing extremely severe consequences."

It agreed with the original ruling made and upheld by the lower courts, noting "the facts in the case are clear, the evidence is sufficient to prove Lao's convictions, the application of the law is correct, the sentencing is appropriate, and the litigation process is in line with the law".

It also supported the deprivation of Lao's political rights for life and the confiscation of all her assets in the ruling.