Some time ago, when the news of Wu Xieyu’s alleged matricide case was in the news, prosecutor Wuner and I talked about a case she had previously handled.
Two years ago, 27-year-old Bian Mengting (a pseudonym) allegedly killed her cousin on purpose. Dissatisfied with the first instance verdict of “immediate execution,” Bian Mengting filed an appeal and the case file was handed over to Wuner, the prosecutor in charge of the second instance review of the death penalty.
Wuner told me that the two cases had many similarities: the two people involved were both young and suspected of intentionally killing their closest relatives; after their return, both suspects behaved calmly, indifferently, and even somewhat indifferently.
In an interrogation transcript signed by Bian Mengting, recorded such a sentence: “I am so vicious? Peng Min but my cousin, my best friend ah!”
“The appellant once said that the victim was the closest and most grateful person she had ever remembered. Because of this, I want to know even more how Bian Mengting’s disregard and trampling on life came about.” According to Wuner, “This is one of the most extraordinary cases among the hundreds of death penalty second trial review cases I have handled.”
1
On January 22, 2017, it was dusk and bitingly cold. A man and a woman came to the local police station to report a crime. The middle-aged man, named Liu Hao, was in his early 50s and looked flustered. He said his wife Peng Min has been missing for a day and two nights, the phone began to be unanswered, and then “temporarily unavailable”. The young woman claimed to be the missing person’s own cousin, also appeared a little anxious, but compared to the middle-aged man, or calm a lot, but also gave the police a lot of details.
“The day before yesterday afternoon, my cousin asked me to accompany her out to ask for money, I drove from their own store to find her, at her request to go Ning Yuan Avenue, midway in the People’s Mall intersection northwest corner met a man, she got out of the car, we have not been in touch since …… she also did not say who that person was, afterwards I also I have not seen them both.” In the investigation organs of the transcript of the questioning, Bian Mengting in their own words above the pressed a bright red handprint.
In front of brother-in-law Liu Hao, Bian Mengting gave a detailed account of the crime, which was also included in the transcript.
“After that day, my sister has not contacted me for nearly two days. I was busy in the store, and did not go to her. Today at noon, I was sleeping, the phone rang, my brother-in-law anxious to cry out, asked me, ‘Your sister has not been found, have you been there?’ I said no, and then rushed to drive to her house. When I arrived at my sister’s beauty store, my brother-in-law was circling anxiously at the front desk. The only employee in my sister’s store was my own sister, Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu said she came to the store from 9:00 am and the door was locked. After waiting for most of an hour, she called my sister’s phone using the neighboring store owner’s cell phone, but it had been temporarily unavailable.
“I was so anxious that I said, ‘Hurry up and find it! Why are you staying in the store?’ My brother-in-law, who is very honest, said with a sobbing face, ‘Where can I look? She’s always with you, isn’t she? She often spends the night at your place. Why don’t you look after her.’ This comment made me very angry. The two of us are indeed often together, the store is busy, some meridian massage I do not know, do not have to ask my sister to help. But this time, I really do not know where she went.”
According to the investigators recall, in the whole narrative process, Bian Mengting speaks unhurriedly, and the more you say, the more relaxed, to the end, even when the anxiety is gone, can not help but let the investigators ask a few more questions.
“Where do you think Peng Min can go?” The detective asked.
“My sister is guaranteed to come back. Eighty percent have something to do with that man.” Bian Mengting sounded very sure.
“How can you be so sure?”
“I saw her bag and jacket in my sister’s store, hanging on the coat rack where she usually hangs her clothes. The money clip was in my sister’s bag, and the money inside was not missing. My sister is timid and has no money on her, so she can still go far?”
“In that case, why did you call the police?”
“I went to my sister’s store and reminded my brother-in-law of the same thing. I didn’t know it was okay, but as soon as I said that, he had to come to the police. I did not feel comfortable, so I came with him.”
“You do not worry about what?”
“My brother-in-law is an honest man, what is not clear ah!”
2
According to the police, Bian Mengting’s expression on the surface, there is really no flaw: time, witnesses and other key evidence are all available, can not reproduce the key points are all “can not remember”. At that time, the people’s mall intersection area is thermal repair, near several community monitoring all failed. The “last side” mentioned by Bian Mengting can not be confirmed.
But usually, when a loved one goes missing, the person is generally fearful, rushed, and easily agitated when asking for details. But in Bian Mengting’s case, all the expressions and details of recollection were nearly perfect. Subsequently, in the questioning of Liu Hao, the investigators deepened this suspicion.
Liu Hao’s transcript is recorded as follows: two days ago in the afternoon, his wife hurriedly gave Liu Hao a phone call, saying that something had to be dealt with. After work, Liu Hao came to the store early and saw his wife’s car keys on the shoe and hat cabinet, the jacket and bag are not in.
That day, his wife did not come back late and did not answer the phone. Liu Hao called Bian Mengting, Bian Mengting said: “My sister asked me to accompany her to go to the people’s shopping mall that intersection, there is a man waiting for him, she got off the car, I did not contact again. I thought she had returned long ago.”
“What did the man look like?” Liu Hao said he was a little nervous, Bian Mengting also seemed a little scared, said the man was not tall, but short and strong, a fierce face.
Liu Hao closed the store, drove to the people’s shopping mall around, nothing. Thinking and feel that the disappearance of what is just a TV drama, and their own ordinary people are not related, must be their own thinking, they went home.
The next morning, his wife still had no news, and his cell phone did not answer, call Bian Mengting, cell phone also did not work – before, the two quarrels, the wife’s store busy, or Bian Mengting’s husband to trouble, the two cell phones do not answer the situation often. So Liu Hao was still holding a sliver of luck, thinking that the two might be together. Until the second night, his wife’s cell phone still did not connect, Liu Hao decided to call the police. But just then, Bian Mengting’s phone got through.
“Tingting knew my daughter-in-law hadn’t come back yet, so she advised me not to call the police first, then rushed to the store and called some customers at the front desk to ask where my daughter-in-law had gone. I couldn’t sink my teeth into it and still wanted to call the police. But she reminded me that the clothes and bags are in the store, people should not go far, no need to call the police.”
Liu Hao said, he just noticed that his wife’s bag on the door of the shoes and hats cabinet put, black soft cowhide, go out often wear a champagne-colored mink short coat is also hanging next to. Could it be that his wife had returned? That is not possible not to contact with their own ah. Liu Hao said he felt his neck was cold at the time.
“I don’t know much about my daughter-in-law’s business, but one thing I do know: there are only two keys to the store, one held by my wife, and one in Ting Ting. The first thing I knew was that my daughter-in-law had left with Tina at around 5 p.m., and it was me and Jade who closed the door afterwards. … but the January 21 surveillance video is missing, even the recycling bin was emptied.”
Liu Hao was terrified, shivering and heading out, Bian Mengting insisted on accompanying him to the police, “At that time, she said something like: ‘I know you’re going to the police, I’ll go with you! I was almost paralyzed with fear.”
“What are you afraid of? Suspicions about her?” The investigator asked.
“According to say should not be, she and my daughter-in-law are too good …… but just feel fishy.”
Received the police at 0:00 pm that night, through effective means of technical investigation, the police pulled out a surveillance video. 11:00 pm on January 21, Bian Mengting came to Peng Min’s store, opened the store door with the key, holding a bulging transparent plastic bag in his arms, which is clothing, bags and other items.
At this time it was 2:00 a.m., the police again brought Bian Mengting to the questioning room.
“How is your relationship with Peng Min?” The police asked.
“My sisters are very good! My sister bought my son a small car, clothes, and a big red envelope for the New Year’s Eve. During the Spring Festival, I didn’t even go back to my own house, I spent it at my sister’s house.”
“So you have a problem with Peng Min?”
“How is it possible? My sister is my benefactor! My sister is in trouble, I am more anxious than anyone else!” Bian Mengting’s eyes were wide open and she looked innocent. Bian Mengting is not tall, slightly fat, with a round face and doll’s head, which makes her look younger than her peers.
“Where were you on January 21?”
“I was at home all the time! By the way, I also went to fix my car; I drove into a tree and it broke down, don’t believe me, you check!”
“So, you didn’t see Peng Min the whole day of January 21, did you?”
“Not at all! We broke up on January 20 until now, and never saw her again.”
“Nor have you been to her store?”
“No matter!”
Six arraignments, and a reason to kill a loved one
At the time, Bian Mengting did not know that it was this statement that made all her crimes no longer covered up. Subsequently, the police showed her video footage and other physical evidence. At almost dawn, Bian Mengting admitted that she had killed Peng Min, and at 5 a.m., agreed to identify the scene.
3
In the early hours of winter, no one can see the fingers.
Just after a heavy snowfall, the road is slippery and bumpy. The police car traveled for more than an hour and stopped in a remote town. The roadside is full of doorstep houses, one of which is written “Cui family old beef”, the words are blurred, very inconspicuous. The police opened the iron locks on the doorstep, in this room of nearly 30 square meters, in addition to a large freezer, there is nothing.
Open the freezer, Peng Min’s body was within. She tilted her head, in a sitting position right curved, the whole body is clean, neither blood, wrists and ankles are not tied traces. A layer of plastic sheeting laid under the freezer, is “buzzing”.
The autopsy report shows that the victim, Peng Min, was 1 meter 65, nearly 10 centimeters taller than the suspect Bian Mengting. The victim was in her prime when she was killed, not without strength. If you extrapolate according to common sense, the victim is in any case impossible to suffer this poisonous hand. And at this time, Bian Mengting’s car has been completely cleaned, no physical evidence was found for the time being. Therefore, Bian Mengting’s confession is particularly critical.
Soon, the local prosecutors approved the arrest of Bian Mengting. Soon after, Bian Mengting was indicted.
Based on Bian Mengting’s several confessions, a complete outline of the case emerged.
In the spring of the year before the crime, Bian Mengting came from her hometown to join her cousin Peng Min in the city. Peng Min, 10 years older than Bian Mengting, had just celebrated her 37th birthday when she was killed and had been running a beauty store in the area for many years. Previously Bian Mengting had been working in the village brick factory in her hometown, and her husband had come to a point of saber rattling, so she found her cousin and said she wanted to find some work.
“Cousin in the old home is very famous, everyone knows she has the ability, can earn money. My sister lent me 30,000 yuan to develop me as a downline before I opened a beauty store in a town near the suburbs.”
Under repeated questioning by the police, Bian Mengting admitted that in addition to opening the store that 30,000 yuan, she had also repeatedly asked her cousin to borrow money, exactly how much, she could not remember. On the eve of the crime, Peng Min found Bian Mengting to call for the money owed, but Bian Mengting’s store is not doing well, not enough to cover the expenses, it is difficult to pay off. On the day of the murder, Peng Min once again accused Bian Mengting of deliberately defaulting, shouting to make a one-time closure. During the argument, the two wrestled in Peng Min’s car. When she saw that Peng Min was about to get the upper hand, Bian Mengting saw that there was a rope in the back seat and intended to tie Peng Min up. But Peng Min struggled, but also shouted for help, Bian Mengting momentarily lost his mind, the rope strangled in Peng Min’s neck.
The confession and the preliminary case file in the same, there is no breakthrough. Accordingly, the court made a first trial verdict, and Bian Mengting was sentenced to death and executed immediately.
However, Bian Mengting had difficulty accepting the result and appealed at the first instance. She argued that it was her cousin who started the attack, and that it was her fault in the first place. Moreover, she did not commit premeditated murder, but rather “passionate murder”, so there are mitigating circumstances.
The case entered the second trial stage, and Wuner, who is responsible for the review of the second trial of the death penalty, officially took over the case.
4
“When I met the victim’s husband, Liu Hao, he hadn’t yet come out of his grief. It’s been 1 year since the incident, and he still rambles on. What he couldn’t understand was that the two sisters had been as good as one another, so how could this close cousin do this to her cousin?” This passage is marked with a red pen in Wuner’s case notes.
For Wuner, handling a case is not simply solving the case, prosecuting, and closing the case, but the human feelings, right and wrong, the distorted psychology, and the obstinate mentality hidden behind the case should be explored and explored, so as to warn the world. According to past experience, unless individual crimes, repeatedly “in the Palace” of repeat offenders, confessions are usually effective breakthrough. But the difficulty is that each person’s internal contacts are different, if you want to break through the other side of the solid psychological dike, you must find its most sensitive, the most concerned, but also may be the most vulnerable place, dominoes may fall down.
Wuner arraigned Bian Mengting six times before and after. The first three times, she was faced with an expressionless speaker who seemed to have nothing to do with the case, calm as if she was stating someone else’s story.
The second trial was about to start, and all the materials had been reviewed. Wuner is most concerned about two things: one is that Bian Mengting’s motive for the murder remains unclear, although several pieces of evidence clearly indicate that she did not “kill in passion”; the other is that the victim’s family has agreed to stop asking the court to kill him if the appellant can immediately deliver 200,000 yuan in civil damages. The other is that the victim’s family agreed to stop asking the court to kill her if she could pay 200,000 yuan in civil damages.
At the fourth arraignment, Wuner informed Bian Mengting of this legal requirement in detail and said that he would go to her parents and husband in the near future to do some work, “This is your last chance. If you can, perhaps the court will be lenient, but it also depends on your family’s attitude. Do you think, for your family, the money can be afforded?”
As soon as these procedural words were spoken, Bian Mengting’s expression suddenly swept over with a hint of imperceptible excitement, but then it passed in a flash. “This 200,000 is to buy my life! How can they still not pay it?” Bian Mengting spat out the words with hatred.
“Your family, do they treat you well? Your parents, do they feel sorry for you?” Wuner lowered the tone of her voice and asked slowly. She saw Bian Mengting lower her head and fell silent. Not long after, tears seeped out from the fingers of the handcuffed hands, followed by sobs.
“It’s not like you can’t see death.” For a long time, Bian Mengting wiped her face with her orange prison coat, “I’m good to them all. Really. I gave almost all of my money to my parents and my date.”
Bian Mengting finally had the desire to confide.
According to Bian Mengting, she started working when she dropped out of school at the age of 15, and the money she earned was paid to her family, often with no money left over except for basic food expenses.
At the age of 18, she fell in love with her husband, which didn’t delay her from paying money to the family. At that time, her sister was already more than 7 years old, and in order to pay more money to the family, she worked in the village brick factory while also working part-time at the village restaurant. After her marriage, her husband took charge of her salary and bonus, and gave a fixed portion of it to her mother’s family every month. From the age of 18 until she left her hometown these 8 years, her money was never in her own hands. So, out to follow her cousin to do something, can only borrow frequently.
Of course, this also proves from another side, Bian Mengting’s mother’s family and husband there is money.
“If they make an effort and borrow some more, 200,000 is not difficult.” Bian Mengting told Wuner with certainty.
In most death penalty cases, if the victim makes a similar request, the appellant’s family usually spares no effort to save his life, even selling his car and house and his family’s money. However, this case was far beyond Wuner’s expectation.
5
Before the second trial, the judge made a special trip to Bian Mengting’s home to try to mediate out of court.
Bian Mengting’s home was located in an old neighborhood in a combination of urban and rural areas, with just over 50 square meters of dark, cramped, messy space. Bian Mengting’s husband was previously divorced and has a 15-year-old son who follows him around, and is currently playing games in the inner room, while the younger son is crawling all over the floor in the outer room, and is already 2 years old at the time.
“There is not a word of truth from my woman’s mouth.” The man, who is nearly half a hundred years old, kicked away his young son who was crawling over to him, while shaking his head, “The youngest child was just born not out of a hundred days, she went to the city. Said to earn money, which see her to the family took a penny?”
The man said, he and Bian Mengting is in the village brick factory to meet. At that time Bian Mengting was only 15 years old, chased 3 years, the two were considered married, but did not pull the card. At first, he felt that this girl is particularly able to bear hardship, a brick smashed into the foot, the thumb toenail are off, did not see her drop a tear, but also smiled and said: “not delayed earning money ha.” This makes him feel admired as a man.
In addition, he has never seen her lose her temper, belong to the special “gentle” character. But later, he found that his wife’s not angry is “not to mess with her”, once pissed off, she can fight him to the death, will never beg for mercy. “How do you think she can be so cruel? Cut! She is a woman with a cruel heart! What kind of mother can be cruel enough to wean her child who is less than 100 days old? And leave?” The more the man spoke, the angrier he became.
The judge felt bad about the man’s attitude.
Before leaving, the judge mentioned two things: first, as Bian Mengting’s spouse, he had to be present at the second trial; second, whether he could try to compensate the victim’s family in order to save the child’s mother’s life. For both points, the man did not make a clear statement.
After that, the judge found the home of his parents again. Bian Mengting’s sister Xiaoyu had returned from the city and was at home waiting for work. Bian Mengting’s parents are in their sixties, and the two of them still need to rely on 10 acres of thin land in order to maintain their food and clothing, and none of the three could see any sadness on their faces.
“She is a sinful animal!” Bian Mengting’s father smoked a water pipe and spat out indignantly, “She’s going to drag the family down! Half buried in the earth, where to rake her money!”
Bian Mengting’s mother was very fat and as ironic as she was. “Wow -” poured the pot of water into the yard, greasy drops splashed all over the judge, “money? Where to get money? We are old and Jade is still young, we have to leave some money for the coffin board. What about her man? The company’s main business is to provide a wide range of products and services. If you sell it, you’ll have it. Why are you asking us for money? Married daughter splashed out water, which does not know?
The negotiations were at an impasse again. For the brick wall like this family. Everyone would rather believe that it was all the family’s angry words after Bian Mengting had caused a big trouble.
A month before the second trial, Wuner arraigned Bian Mengting for the 5th time.
“What’s the result?” Just sitting down, Bian Mengting asked impatiently.
“I’m working on it.” Wuner answered her politely.
Bian Mengting seemed to have guessed something, hung her head and stopped talking.
“Do you have problems with your family?” Wuner asked again.
“Fences? What problems? I’m their own daughter.” Bian Mengting’s voice wasn’t loud, but her words carried a sting. “I knew they wouldn’t care if I lived or died! Never cared.”
Further on, the anger took hold of Bian Mengting, and she could barely communicate properly.
Within a few days, however, Bian Mengting volunteered to see the prosecutor. At her sixth arraignment, Bian Mengting finally began her confession.
Combining the statements of her parents, spouse and several witness testimonies, Wuner finally put together a complete picture of Bian Mengting’s suspected intentional homicide.
6
For as long as she could remember, Bian Mengting had not been well received by her parents and was often scolded. With a younger sister, her presence became even more redundant.
At the age of 15, Bian Mengting was forced to drop out of school, and after taking care of her sister at home for a while, she went to work in the village brick factory. She thought that the man who was madly pursuing her would treat her well for the rest of her life, but after the marriage, he not only took control of the financial power, but also hated her seriousness and temper. The more the two got into trouble, the more they almost fought each other. In those years, her husband bought a house in the city and countryside, and Bian Mengting’s parents once thought that the couple had hidden a lot of money without giving it to the family and made a big fuss.
Bian Mengting really did not want to face, so she fled to the city and joined her cousin.
As she had no money, her cousin Peng Min lent her a lot of money. The couple did not have a child for many years. The cousin, 10 years younger than himself, at first, Peng Min as his own, in addition to lending money, but also running around to help open a store. But gradually, Peng Min and her husband Liu Hao found that Bian Mengting not only did not pay back the money, but also made up various reasons to continue to borrow money.
Shortly before the murder, the victim Peng Min repeatedly asked Bian Mengting for the money owed, but Bian Mengting not only did not return the money, but also bad-mouthed her cousin on the phone. Peng Min then said that if the money was not returned, “measures” would be taken. Bian Mengting was scared and tried to solve the problem, so she gave a credit card in her name to Peng Min and told her the password to show her sincerity – but she also said that the card was used as collateral and that she would pay back the money as soon as possible and asked her cousin not to use it easily. But it didn’t take long for Bian Mengting to discover that the card was overdrawn.
Bian Mengting thought that the conflicts at hand were completely beyond her ability to resolve and control. It was also at this point in time that evidence shows that Bian Mengting had searched the Internet several times: “How do you dispose of a corpse?” “How long does it take for a corpse to decompose?” and other content, and posted a key question, “How long does it take to strangle a person to death?”
Considering that Peng Min is taller than she is, she may not have an advantage when she does it, before the crime, Bian Mengting also purchased sleeping pills through various channels and “modified” them with vitamin tablet packaging bottles.
On January 20, the day of the crime, Bian Mengting went to Peng Min to “deal with the grudge”. She first pretended to be friendly to Peng Min and offered to make up, and put several pills into the juice brewed for Peng Min and watched her drink it. After that, she offered to go outside to talk about how to deal with the economic dispute between the two sides, and so Bian Mengting drove away from the beauty salon with Peng Min.
At first, Bian Mengting circled around the city a few times and found that the drug had not yet taken effect, so she came to the city’s famous attraction: Yuhuan River Park. According to Bian Mengting, if Peng Min could write off the debt problem, she would not do it. But Peng Min’s approach is quite the opposite, the car is parked, Peng Min from the bag out of a pile of bank flow, the above with a red pen outlines a dozen accounts, next to all written “Bian Mengting owes”. In addition, even the principal, which was agreed not to be paid back, was also included in the arrears.
Bian Mengting had the intention to kill.
At this time, sitting in the passenger seat of Peng Min should be a little sleepy, they will adjust the seat to a state close to lying down, Bian Mengting then pulled out the rope under the rear seat, strangled Peng Min’s neck.
After forensic identification, the victim’s neck was wrapped around two circles, strangulation marks as deep as 0.5 cm, visible at the time the force of the large.
As it is not yet time to leave work, there are still maintenance staff walking around the park. After thinking for a while, Bian Mengting pulled the body and drove to a remote town in the suburbs, temporarily rented a storefront room.
The next morning, Bian Mengting went to the nearby farmers market to purchase a large freezer at a reduced price, and asked someone to transport back to the gatehouse. That night, she packed up Peng Min’s clothes and bags, etc., drove back to Peng Min’s store, creating the illusion of Peng Min’s return, and deleted the surveillance video. Wait until 3:00 midnight, only to drag Peng Min’s body down from the trunk and hide it in the room’s freezer.
The concierge room was very cold, unheated, and the floor was concrete. But Bian Mengting said she slept heavily against the freezer that day until she was awakened by her brother-in-law’s phone call.
Since then, Wuner has made several trips to and from Bian Mengting’s husband’s home and her parents’ home.
Her husband always said “think about it”, and then nothing more; and the two old folks sat with Wuner in the courtyard, not saying a word since the beginning.
“One more chance. Next month, your eldest daughter’s case will be heard in the second trial. The Pang Min family has loosened their lips, as long as you can pay for the money, even if the first part of the compensation, the rest of a note, they no longer have to let Bian Mengting pay for life. After all, they are relatives.” This last sentence, Werner deliberately said a little heavier, a little slower.
After listening to Werner, the old couple got up and went inside the house, “clang!” The door closed with a clang, and the words came from inside: “Let’s pretend we never raised this child!”
Postscript
In the courtroom of the second trial, Bian Mengting did not wait for the people she wanted to see – her family, her lover, her friends – none of them came.
“What kind of family is this? Xiao Min was killed by their family, and the old couple and the murderer’s husband never came to my house to say even a word of apology! They are in the same village, and they are sisters! The front of the house is only 50 meters away! What kind of family is this?” Outside the courtroom, Peng Min’s family was filled with righteous anger and cried.
Before leaving the courtroom, Wuner saw Bian Mengting’s eyes, full of the desire to live, but no tears.
Finally, the second trial of Bian Mengting’s alleged murder case was upheld.
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