Yang Xinhai (; July 17, 1968 – February 14, 2004), also known as Yang Zhiya, and Yang Liu, was a Chinese

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who confessed to committing 67 murders and 23

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

s between 1999 and 2003. He was

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

and

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. He was dubbed the "Monster Killer" by the media. He is the most prolific known serial killer China has seen since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Biography

Yang was born on July 17, 1968, in

Zhengyang County Zhengyang County () is a county in the southeast of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhumadian Zhumadian (; postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province, China. It ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

. His family was one of the poorest in their village. The youngest of four children, Yang was clever and introverted. He dropped out of school in 1985, at age 17, and refused to return home, instead travelling around China and working as a laborer.

Crimes

In 1988 and 1991, Yang was sentenced to labor camps for

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for som ...

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

and Shijiazhuang,

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...

. In 1996, he was sentenced to five years in prison for attempted

Zhumadian Zhumadian (; postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province, China. It borders Xinyang to the south, Nanyang to the west, Pingdingshan to the northwest, Luohe to the north, Zhoukou to the northeast, and the province of An ...

, Henan and released in 1999. Yang's killings took place between 1999 and 2003 in the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

, Hebei, Henan and Shandong. At night, he would enter his victims' homes, and kill all of the occupants—mainly farmers—with axes, hammers, and shovels, sometimes killing entire families. Each time he wore new clothes and large shoes. In October 2002, Yang killed a father and a six-year-old girl with a shovel and raped a pregnant woman, who survived the attack with serious head injuries.

Arrest, trial and execution

Yang was detained on November 3, 2003, after acting suspiciously during a routine police inspection of entertainment venues in

Cangzhou Cangzhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. At the 2020 census, Cangzhou's built-up (''or metro'') area made of Yunhe, Xinhua districts and Cang County largely being conurbated had a populatio ...

, Hebei. Police took him in for questioning and discovered that he was wanted for murder in four provinces. Yang was sentenced to death by the

Luohe Luohe (; postal: Loho) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province, China. It is surrounded by the cities of Xuchang, Zhoukou, Zhumadian and Pingdingshan on its north, east, south and west respectively. Its population was 2,367,490 inha ...

City Intermediate People's Court, Henan, on February 1, 2004. At the time of his sentencing, official Chinese media believed he had carried out China's longest and grisliest killing spree. Yang was

on 14 February 2004 by

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...

Motive

According to some media reports at the time of his arrest, Yang's

motive Motive(s) or The Motive(s) may refer to: * Motive (law) Film and television * ''Motives'' (film), a 2004 thriller * ''The Motive'' (film), 2017 * ''Motive'' (TV series), a 2013 Canadian TV series * ''The Motive'' (TV series), a 2020 Israeli T ...

for the killings was revenge against society as a result of a

break up A relationship breakup, breakup, or break-up is the termination of a relationship. The act is commonly termed "dumping omeone in slang when it is initiated by one partner. The term is less likely to be applied to a married couple, where a bre ...

. Allegedly his girlfriend had left him because of his previous sentences for theft and rape. Later media reports claimed that his enjoyment of robbery, rape and murder was the motive. While Yang never formally provided a motive, he was quoted as saying:

"When I killed people I had a desire. This inspired me to kill more. I don't care whether they deserve to live or not. It is none of my concern...I have no desire to be part of society. Society is not my concern."

List of his serial murders

* 19 September 2000, Guozhuang Village, Beijiao Township,

Chuanhui District Chuanhui District () is a district of the city of Zhoukou in Henan province, China. It lies at the intersection of the Ying River, Sha River and Jialu River. The name "Chuanhui" means that three rivers come across. From the 17th to 19th centuries, ...

Zhoukou Zhoukou (; Postal romanization, postal: Chowkow) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Henan province of China, province, China. It borders Zhumadian to the southwest, Xuchang and Luohe to the west, Kaifeng to the northwest, Shangqiu to the north ...

, 2 murders * 1 October 2000, Chunshuzhuang, Xiaoying Village, Wangdian Town,

Yingzhou District Yingzhou District () is a district of the city of Fuyang () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Anhui province, China. It borders Bozhou to the northeast, Huainan to the southeast, Lu'an to the south, and the province of Henan on all o ...

Fuyang () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Anhui province, China. It borders Bozhou to the northeast, Huainan to the southeast, Lu'an to the south, and the province of Henan on all other sides. Its population was 8,200,264 inhabitants at the ...

, 3 murders, 1 rape * 15 August 2001, Fangcheliu Village, Juling Township, Linying County,

, Henan, 3 murders, 1 rape * Autumn 2001, Kanglou Township, Xihua County, Zhoukou, Henan, 2 murders * Winter 2001, a village southeast of the county town of

Ye County Ye County or Yexian () is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Pingdingshan, Henan province, China, with a population of . The ancient town of Kunyang was located in Ye County. It was the site of the critical Battle ...

Pingdingshan Pingdingshan (), also known as Eagle City ( zh, s=鹰城, p=Yīngchéng, t=鷹城), is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province, China. It had 4,904,701 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,756,333 lived in the built-up (or metro) a ...

, Henan, 2 murders * 27 January 2002,

Tongxu County Tongxu County () is a county in the east-central part of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of C ...

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the No ...

, Henan, 3 murders, 1 rape * 30 June 2002, Chaigang Township,

Fugou County Fugou County () is a county of east-central Henan province, China. It is under the administration of Zhoukou city. Administrative divisions As 2012, this county is divided to 9 towns and 6 townships. ;Towns ;Townships Climate See also * Sh ...

, Zhoukou, Henan, 4 murders, 1 rape * 28 July 2002, Dengzhou,

Nanyang Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to: Written as 南洋 (Southern Ocean) * Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea ;China * Nanyang Fleet, Qing ...

, Henan, 4 murders, 2 rapes * 22 October 2002, Zhaihu Village, Songji Township, Xiping County, Zhumadian, Henan, 2 murders, 1 rape, 1 seriously injured * 8 November 2002, Gaoli Village, Shaodian Township,

Shangcai County Shangcai County () is a county in the south of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhumadian. Administrative divisions As 2017, this county is divided to 4 subdistricts, 12 towns and 10 townships. ...

, Zhumadian, Henan, 4 murders, 2 rapes, 1 seriously injured * 16 November 2002, Liuzhuang Village, Zhangshi Town,

Weishi County Weishi County () is a county in the central part of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, ...

, Kaifeng, Henan, 2 murders, 1 rape * 19 November 2002, Shiguai Village, Wangmeng Township, Linying County, Luohe, Henan, 2 murders * 1 December 2002, Yanwan Village, Wangpiliu Town,

Luyi County Luyi County () is a county of eastern Henan, People's Republic of China, bordering Anhui province to the east. It is under the administration of Zhoukou City. The county is known for its make-up brushes production, with over 150 million brushe ...

, Zhoukou, Henan, 2 murders, 1 rape, 1 seriously injured * 6 December 2002, Liuzhuang Village, Renhe Township,

Xiping County Xiping County () is a county in the southeast-central part of Henan province in the People's Republic of China. It is the northernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Zhumadian. Xiping covers an area of and has 840,000 inhab ...

, Zhumadian, Henan, 5 murders, 1 rape * 13 December 2002, Sijia Village, Malan Township, Yanling County,

Xuchang Xuchang (; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the southeast, and Pi ...

, Henan, 2 murders * 15 December 2002, Xiaolizhuang, Miaocha Town,

Linquan County Linquan County () is a county in the northwest of Anhui Province, China, bordering Henan province to the northwest, west, and southwest. It is the westernmost county-level division of Fuyang city. The Quan River 泉河 a tributary of the Ying ...

, Fuyang, Anhui, 3 murders, 1 rape * 5 February 2003, Kuzhuang Township, Xiangcheng County, Xuchang, Henan, 3 murders, 1 rape, 1 seriously injured * 18 February 2003, Chiying Township, Xihua County, Zhoukou, Henan, 4 murders, 2 rapes * 23 March 2003, Chengguan Town,

Minquan County Minquan County () is a county in the east of Henan province, China, bordering Shandong province to the east. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shangqiu and is located at its northwest corner and is its northernmost cou ...

Shangqiu Shangqiu (), alternately romanized as Shangkiu, is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China. It borders Kaifeng to the northwest, Zhoukou to the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Anhui to the northeast and southeast respectivel ...

, Henan, 4 murders, 1 rape * 2 April 2003, Sanlizhai Village, Taoyuan Town,

Cao County Cao County or Caoxian () is a county in Heze City in southwestern Shandong Province, China. It borders Henan Province to the west. History Bo, one of the capitals of the Shang dynasty, lay in what is now Cao . Prior to the Boxer Rebellion, ...

Heze Heze, formerly known as Caozhou, is the westernmost prefecture-level city in Shandong province, China, it borders Jining to the east and the provinces of Henan and Anhui to the west and south respectively. History Caozhou was at the center ...

, Shandong, 2 murders * 5 August 2003, Lidao Village,

Xingtai Xingtai (), formerly known as Xingzhou and Shunde, is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has a total area of and administers 4 districts, 2 county-level cities and 12 counties. At the 2020 censu ...

, 3 murders *8 August 2003, Dongliangxiang Village, Qiaoxi District, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 5 murders Totals: 26 incidents, 67 murders, 23 rapes, 10 intentional serious injuries

References

External links

China executes mass murderer
.

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

. Saturday 14 February 2004.
Man faces death after killing 67

.

China Daily ''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Overview ''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...

. 2 February 2004.
Serial killers in China
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Xinhai 1968 births 1988 crimes in China 1991 crimes in China 1996 crimes in China 1999 murders in China 2000 murders in China 2001 murders in China 2002 murders in China 2003 murders in China 2004 deaths 20th-century Chinese criminals 21st-century Chinese criminals 21st-century executions by China Chinese male criminals Chinese mass murderers Chinese murderers of children Chinese people convicted of murder Chinese rapists Executed Chinese serial killers Executed mass murderers Executed people from Henan Executed People's Republic of China people Family murders People convicted of murder by the People's Republic of China People executed by China by firearm People from Zhumadian Serial mass murderers