Unknown Gender History: Lao Rongzhi, Female Serial Killer

Chinese Serial killer couple Lao Rongzhi and Fa Ziying began their murder career at the age of 19 and 32 respectively. Between 1996 and 1999 they murdered seven people, including a 3-year-old child. Fa Ziying was captured in June 1989, but he refused to disclose his partners whereabouts. Five months later he was executed.

Lao Rongzhi was on the run for twenty years when, on November 29, 2019, she was finally identified with the assistance of China’s notorious artificial intelligence facial recognition surveillance system.

She was sentenced to death on September 9, 2021.

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FULL TEXT: Beijing, September 10— A Chinese woman who was allegedly involved in several robberies, abductions and the murder of seven people has been sentenced to death by a local court in the southeastern Jiangxi Province. Lao Rongzhi conspired with her then-boyfriend in several robberies, abductions and murders in various provinces during 1996-1999 that led to the death of seven people, Nanchang Intermediate People’s Court said in its judgement on Thursday.

Lao was arrested in November 2019 after absconding for some 20 years using pseudonyms, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The court also stripped her of her political rights and ordered that all her personal property be confiscated. After hearing the court’s first instance verdict, Lao cried in court and said she would appeal the ruling, the state-run Global Times reported.

According to the People’s Procuratorate of Nanchang city, between 1996 and 1999, Lao committed four kidnappings, robbery and murder in East China’s Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces together with her then-boyfriend Fa Ziying. The two conspired and divided the work, with Lao working as a hostess in entertainment venues to find rich people to commit crimes. Seven people were killed, and Lao was involved in killing five of them and robbing a large sum of money.

Fa was captured in Hefei in 1999 and was sentenced to death. Lao then became a fugitive and used fake identities to evade, and was finally captured in Xiamen in 2019 after nearly 20 years on the run. During the trial which began in December, Lao repeatedly argued that collusion did not exist and that she was also a victim, saying that she was used and coerced by Fa when she was 21 years old. Lao tearfully apologised to the victim’s family and offered to compensate.

After the trial, the court held that Lao’s behaviour constituted the crime of intentional homicide, robbery and kidnapping. At the same time, because Lao’s criminal methods were particularly cruel, the purpose was extremely vicious, and the circumstances of her offenses were extremely serious. Although Lao confessed to the crimes, she couldn’t be leniently punished. Zhu Dahong, the widow of Lu Zhongming, one of the victims in the case who observed the sentencing said she felt relieved after the verdict was announced and would take her children to visit Lu’s grave. —PTI

[“Chinese woman involved in 7 murders sentenced to death; Lao was arrested in November 2019 after absconding for some 20 years using pseudonyms,” The Tribune (Chandigarh, India), Sep 10, 2022 (revised Sep. 10)]

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CHRONOLOGY

1996 – Lao Rongzhi (19), quits job as elementary schoolteacher.

1996 – Lao Rongzhi (19) and Fa Ziying (32) murder of Xiong; Lao Rongzhi, poses as prostitute for first of 7 murders committed by couple, Fa Ziying and Lao Rongzhi, both of southern province of Jiangxi. Jewelry stolen.

1996 – Xiong’s wife and daughter (3) murdered at their home. 200,000 yuan stolen.

1997 – couple kidnaps and killed two prostitutes, stealing their watches, phones and money.

1999 – couple moves to Hefei, Anhui and murders two more people.

Jul. 1999 – Fa Ziying (35), captured at Hefei; later convicted and executed.

Dec. 1999 – Fa Ziying executed.

Nov. 29, 2019 – Lao Rongzhi (45), captured in Xiamen in south-eastern China; artificial intelligence, facial recognition used to identify and locate; arrested at a shopping centre in Xiamen, Fujian, where she worked selling watches.

Dec. 21, 2020 – Lao Rongzhi trial begins.

Sep. 9, 2021 – Lao Rongzhi Sentenced to death.

Aug. 18, 2022 – Lao Rongzhi sentenced to death for additional crimes.

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SOURCES

[Tracy You, “China's 'Bonnie and Clyde' caught: Notorious murderer on the run is spotted by facial-recognition cameras before being arrested - 20 years after her partner and lover was executed by a firing squad, Daily Mail (London), 3 December 2019]

Zhuang Pinghui, “Woman who killed seven caught after 20 years on the run,” inkstone,” Dec. 3, 2019]

[“Chinese ‘serial killer’ Lao Rongzhi caught after 20 years on the run,” Resonate, Dec. 2, 2019]

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