Man executed after argument over debt ends in murder
The couple's wedding photo.
A man who murdered his wife after falling into debt has been executed, the victim's family told Chengdu Economic Daily on Thursday.
Gao fatally stabbed his wife, Tingting, in March, 2022, then tried to hide her body in a freezer before falsely reporting her death as suicide the next day.
Gao and Tingting were married in 2015, court records showed. By the following year, Gao had lost heavily on the stock market and secretly sold their home and borrowed over 1 million yuan (US$150,000), plunging the couple into debt.
The couple frequently argued over money. On the evening of March 1, 2022, another argument escalated. At around 8am the next day, the argument continued and Gao stabbed his wife with a fruit knife.
The freezer that Gao (pictured) intended to use to hide his wife's body.
On March 3, after a failed suicide attempt, Gao called the police, claiming his wife had taken her own life. Officers quickly determined she had been murdered and he was arrested.
In June 2023, Gao was sentenced to death. He appealed, but the Shanghai High People's Court upheld the sentence in November.
"Tingting has been gone for two and a half years. We're grateful for justice, and now she can rest in peace," her sister told the newspaper. The family recently visited Tingting's grave to share the ruling.
According to the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald, Gao showed no remorse or offered any apology before his death.
