China on Wednesday executed a couple for the heinous crime of throwing two children out of a high-rise apartment window.
The Supreme Court had previously sentenced Zhang Bo, the father of the toddlers, and Ye Chengchen, his girlfriend, to death for the premeditated murder of a two-year-old girl and a one-year-old boy.
According to reports, the couple considered Bo’s children as “obstacles” to their marriage and planned a horrifying act. The Intermediate People’s Court stated that they staged an “accidental” fall from the 15th floor of a residential tower in the city of Chongqing.
The motive behind their actions was deemed despicable, and the means they used were brutal.
The Chinese court, in its original judgment on December 28, 2021, handed down the death penalty to both individuals, stating that they had violated both the law and moral limits.
The court emphasized that their actions had caused a terrible social influence.
The disturbing details of the case revealed that Bo had engaged in an extramarital affair with Chengchen, leading to his divorce from his wife in February 2020.
It was during this time that the couple decided to kill the children.
Bo called his one-year-old son and two-year-old daughter to his apartment on the 14th floor and heartbreakingly threw them out of the window.
Chengchen was also sentenced to death as she had forced Bo to commit the crime. The court stated that Chengchen did not want her future husband to have children from previous relationships.
The couple had been dating since 2019, and Chengchen had allegedly asked Bo to kill his children multiple times due to objections from her parents.
Court documents revealed a chilling conversation between Chengchen and Bo, where she said, “When the kids are gone, I will marry you… Why don’t you kill both since you will be killing anyway?”
The verdict stated that when Bo hesitated, Chengchen forced him to carry out the murder.
After the horrifying act, Bo was seen crying beside his children by some neighbors. Unfortunately, one child died on the spot, while the other was declared dead at the hospital.
The couple appealed against the ruling, leading to a second trial at the Chongqing Higher People’s Court.
However, in May 2023, the court upheld the original ruling and submitted it for review before the Supreme People’s Court, as per legal provisions that require the top court’s approval for execution.
