Man stands trial for grisly murder of wife
Xu Guoli stands trial today at Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court in Hanghzou, Zhejiang Province, for allegedly killing and dismembering his wife.
A man stood trial today at Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court for allegedly killing and dismembering his wife in a horrendous and high-profile case in Hangzhou, capital of neighboring Zhejiang Province.
Xu Guoli is accused of murdering his wife Lai Huili at their home on July 4, 2020, and chopping up her body up before discarding it, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the methods Xu used were extremely cruel.
Xu and his wife had conflicts over emotional, economic and other issues. He bought knives and cutting machines while planning the murder, prosecutors said.
Xu slipped sleeping pills into the milk Lai drank on the evening of July 4, 2020. Later he used duct tape to seal her mouth and suffocated her with a pillow, prosecutors said.
He then dismembered the body in the bathroom and dumped it, prosecutors alleged.
A screenshot of an interview in which Xu said he was very worried about his wife's disappearance.
Xu and other family members reported his wife missing to police on July 6, and later gave media interviews in which he appeared deeply upset about her disappearance.
Police later scoured the area around the couple's residential compound looking for Lai but found nothing. They checked surveillance footage from the compound and nearby areas, and determined Lai never left the compound after returning home on July 4.
On July 22, police carefully examined the feces and other water matter drained from the compound's septic tank, and found human body parts — the DNA of which matched Lai's.
Police detained Xu the next day.
Xu admitted to the killing but claimed the tools he bought were not meant for the murder, the court said.
His attorney claimed the crime was not premeditated and applied for an assessment of Xu's mental condition, which prosecutors argued was completely unnecessary because he meticulously planned the murder.
Lai's relatives also brought a civil suit against Xu, demanding a compensation of 2.71 million yuan (US$421,134), the court said.
A verdict will be announced at a later date.
A missing person poster for Lai Huili
