Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 6, 2006 13:11:28 GMT -5
Student who murdered husband gets death penalty
Chinese graduate student Chen Danlei has been sentenced to death with a
2-year suspension for murdering her husband when they were in the United
States.
The verdict came from the Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court on
Monday.
Chen, 29, was also required to pay her parents-in-law 440,000 yuan
(US$55,000) in compensation.
During the previous trial, Chen had pleaded guilty to killing her husband.
Chen shot He Lei, also in his late 20s, in the back of the head on August
20, 2005, at their apartment in Lafayette, Indiana. She then placed He's
cut up body parts in their car and left the vehicle in a hotel car park
before escaping, the court heard.
Chen told the court during the hearing that she had hired someone named
Jack to move He's body into the refrigerator after the shooting but Jack
cut him up into eight pieces instead, without her instruction.
But there has been no evidence for the existence of Jack.
Chen Danlei and He Lei were classmates at the prestigious Tsinghua
University in Beijing. They got married in 2001 when they moved to the
United States for further studies at Purdue University.
Chen told the court she loved He very much and He was always loyal to her.
But later He wanted to divorce her after they argued a lot.
On December 25, 2004, Chen stabbed He. Local media said she did it during
sexual intercourse.
At that time, He hired a lawyer to defend Chen and bailed her out of jail
with US$50,000. The local court issued an order forbidding Chen to
approach He unless for therapeutic consultations. A few months later they
lived together at the suggestion of a therapist.
However, the court heard that their arguments began again and He
threatened divorce again. Chen bought a gun over the Internet on August
18, 2005, under the name of Jack Washington. The seller Christopher
Michael Land provided an affidavit to the court.
On the evening of August 19, 2005, the couple had a serious fight and He
threatened to move out. Chen shot him the next morning.
Chen told the court she wanted to put He's body in the refrigerator when
it started to smell, but could not. She then said she found someone named
Jack from the Internet and agreed to pay him US$2,000 to do the job for
her.
Chen said she wanted to visit her mother's tomb at her hometown in Sichuan
Province. She was arrested when she arrived in Shanghai on August 26,
2005.
China sent a team to the United States in November 2005 to take over all
the evidence and conduct further investigations.
If Chen behaves in the next 2 years, she may escape the death penalty.
(source: China Daily)
Chinese graduate student Chen Danlei has been sentenced to death with a
2-year suspension for murdering her husband when they were in the United
States.
The verdict came from the Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court on
Monday.
Chen, 29, was also required to pay her parents-in-law 440,000 yuan
(US$55,000) in compensation.
During the previous trial, Chen had pleaded guilty to killing her husband.
Chen shot He Lei, also in his late 20s, in the back of the head on August
20, 2005, at their apartment in Lafayette, Indiana. She then placed He's
cut up body parts in their car and left the vehicle in a hotel car park
before escaping, the court heard.
Chen told the court during the hearing that she had hired someone named
Jack to move He's body into the refrigerator after the shooting but Jack
cut him up into eight pieces instead, without her instruction.
But there has been no evidence for the existence of Jack.
Chen Danlei and He Lei were classmates at the prestigious Tsinghua
University in Beijing. They got married in 2001 when they moved to the
United States for further studies at Purdue University.
Chen told the court she loved He very much and He was always loyal to her.
But later He wanted to divorce her after they argued a lot.
On December 25, 2004, Chen stabbed He. Local media said she did it during
sexual intercourse.
At that time, He hired a lawyer to defend Chen and bailed her out of jail
with US$50,000. The local court issued an order forbidding Chen to
approach He unless for therapeutic consultations. A few months later they
lived together at the suggestion of a therapist.
However, the court heard that their arguments began again and He
threatened divorce again. Chen bought a gun over the Internet on August
18, 2005, under the name of Jack Washington. The seller Christopher
Michael Land provided an affidavit to the court.
On the evening of August 19, 2005, the couple had a serious fight and He
threatened to move out. Chen shot him the next morning.
Chen told the court she wanted to put He's body in the refrigerator when
it started to smell, but could not. She then said she found someone named
Jack from the Internet and agreed to pay him US$2,000 to do the job for
her.
Chen said she wanted to visit her mother's tomb at her hometown in Sichuan
Province. She was arrested when she arrived in Shanghai on August 26,
2005.
China sent a team to the United States in November 2005 to take over all
the evidence and conduct further investigations.
If Chen behaves in the next 2 years, she may escape the death penalty.
(source: China Daily)