‘Deranged ghost’ conviction doubts
Print Edition
A CONVICTED sex killer dubbed a “deranged ghost” by police claims that he is guilty only of attempted robbery.
Police in Jiahe County in central China’s Hunan Province linked local resident Li Jinbiao to 15 cases, including the rape and murder of several women.
But Li said he was tortured by police to extract false confessions and that his only crime was trying to rob a woman, The Beijing News reported yesterday.
Lei Jianting, the police officer who led the investigation, denies using torture.
In 2012, at the Chenzhou City Intermediate People’s Court, Li was sentenced to death for raping four women, leaving two to die at the scene, and found guilty of attempted robbery.
At an appeal in 2013, most of these convictions were overturned, though those for the rape and death of a 73-year-old woman and attempted robbery were upheld. Li’s death sentence was also upheld.
The appeal verdict at the Hunan Higher People’s Court questioned the evidence for some of Li’s convictions.
“Three of the rape convictions were based on Li’s confession to police. There is a lack of sufficient conclusive evidence,” the verdict read.
On April 18, 2010, local woman Liu Jinxia reported that a man tried to rob her.
After holding Li in connection, police linked him to 14 robberies, rapes and killings as he fitted a profile.
Police believed the suspect was a local in his 40s — as Li was. The rape and death of a 73-year-old woman in Lijia Village where Li lived increased suspicions.
Police called the serial sex killer they were seeking a “deranged ghost,” whose victims ranged from 13 to 73 and who had remained elusive.
“You can feel that there is a deranged killer in Lijia Village who is like a ghost,” Lei told a local newspaper in 2010.
In October 2010, Li’s DNA was found on the body of the elderly woman and he was later placed in custody, the paper reported.
Lei was promoted to Jihe’s deputy police chief in 2013.
Li has written letters accusing Lei of torturing him. “He kicked me and beat me with sticks,” he claimed.
Police said that burns Li suffered in detention were due to touching a stove by accident.
Lawyer Liao Zhongzhen said Li’s right arm and shoulder seemed paralyzed.
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