also known as Wang Ganggang, Yang Zhiya, and Yang Liu, was a Chinese serial killer who confessed to committing 65 murders and 23 rapes between 1999 and 2003, and was sentenced to death and executed for 67. He was dubbed the "Monster Killer" by the media.
Biography
Yang was born in July 1968 in Zhumadian, Zhengyang County, Henan Province, China. His family was one of the poorest in their village. The youngest of four children, Yang was clever but introverted. He dropped out of school in 1985, at age 17, and refused to return home, instead traveling around China and working as a hired laborer.
Crimes
In 1988 and 1991, Yang was sentenced to labor camps for theft in Xi'an, Shaanxi and Shijiazhuang, Hebei.
In 1996, he was sentenced to five years in prison for attempted rape in Zhumadian, Henan and released in 1999.
Yang's killings took place between 1999 and 2003 in the provinces of Anhui, 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, Hebei. Police took him in for questioning and discovered that he was wanted for murder in four provinces. As news of his arrest and crimes spread, the media dubbed him the "Monster Killer".
Shortly after he was arrested, Yang confessed to 65 murders, 23 rapes and five attacks causing serious injury: 49 murders, 17 rapes and five attacks in Henan; eight murders and three rapes in Hebei; six murders and two rapes in Anhui; and two murders and one rape in Shandong. Police also matched his DNA with that found at several crime scenes.
On February 1, 2004, Yang was found guilty of 67 murders and 23 rapes, and sentenced to death in Luohe City Intermediate People's Court, Henan. At the time of his sentencing, official Chinese media believed he had carried out China's longest and grisliest killing spree.
Yang was executed on February 14, 2004, by a gunshot to the back of the head.
Motive
According to some media reports at the time of his arrest, Yang's motive for the killings was revenge against society as a result of a break up.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:
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