A serial killer known as the “Chinese Jack the Ripper” has been put to death by authorities in a secretive execution, state media reports.
Gao Chengyong, who ran a grocery store with his wife in the city of Baiyin, central China, lived a chilling double life as a murderer whose reign of terror lasted more than a decade.
Local authorities in Baiyin confirmed that the 54-year-old was executed this morning, after ten months on death row, says state news agency Xinhua.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Chinese government does not normally reveal details of its executions, which are conducted behind closed doors, but most of those sentenced to death meet their fate by firing squad or lethal injectives, the BBC reports.
Between 1988 and 2002, the father-of-two raped, murdered and mutilated at least 11 women and girls, the youngest aged eight.
He would frequently sever body parts, including parts of the reproductive organs, during his grisly attacks, leading the media to dub him the “Chinese Jack the Ripper” after the 19th-century killer notorious for surgically mutilating his female victims.
At the height of the murders, “women in Baiyin would not walk alone in the streets without being accompanied by male relatives or friends”, the BBC reports.
He was finally cornered 14 years after his spree ended, thanks to a chance DNA breakthrough.
In 2015, police took a swab from Gao’s uncle following a minor brush with the law. The sample was flagged as a partial match to that obtained from the scene of some of the murders, indicating that the killer must be a relation.
The clue eventually led detectives to Gao, who was arrested at his grocery store in August 2016.
The middle-aged shopkeeper “was described by acquaintances as a quiet man, emotionally detached from his family”, the South China Morning Post reported at the time.
Police said Gao, who confessed to the killings under questioning, had “a sexual perversion and hates women”, CNN reports.
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
