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Baby-killing car thief gets death penalty

Source:Global Times Published: 2013-5-28 0:33:01

The car thief, who killed a baby boy that was inside the car he stole in Changchun, Jilin Province in March, was sentenced to death at the Intermediate People's Court of Changchun Monday.

Zhou Xijun, 48, was charged with intentional homicide and theft. He was also fined 50,000 yuan ($8,145), and sentenced to compensate the victim's family 17,098.5 yuan. Zhou said he would appeal, China Central Television reported.

Zhou stole a silver-gray Toyota RAV 4 with a two-month-old boy inside from in front of a store on the morning of March 4, which triggered a province-wide manhunt involving thousands of police and volunteers.

On March 5, Zhou turned himself in and confessed he had driven the vehicle to Gongzhuling county, 60 kilometers from Changchun, and strangled the baby before burying him in snow.

Zhou abandoned the vehicle in a residential compound in Gongzhuling 40 minutes after stealing it. A security guard from the compound reported it to police.

Many Chinese Web users expressed shock at Zhou's brutality. Residents in Changchun gathered at a local square and held a candlelight vigil to express their grief.

Global Times

Posted in: Society