Murderer of Chinese overseas student in Germany sentenced to life in prison
A book of condolences for a slain Chinese student of Anhalt University lies on a table in a university classroom in Dessau-Rosslau, Germany, 27 May 2016.
The rapist and murderer of a Chinese overseas student in Germany was sentenced to lifelong imprisonment, and his accomplice received a youth penalty of five years and six months for sexual coercion, a court in eastern German town of Dessau-Rosslau delivered the verdict Friday.
Local media Mitteldeutche Zeitung reported both defendants, Sebastian F. and Xenia I., were also ordered to pay damages for pain and suffering of 60,000 euros.
Li Yangjie, a 25-year-old architecture student went missing while jogging on the evening of May 11, 2016 in the city of Dessau. Her disfigured body was found abandoned in brush near the crime scene two days later before the police identified the both 20-year-old male and female suspects.
According to prosecutors, the two lured her to an empty apartment and then sexually assaulted her. When they found Li still alive, they carried the severely wounded victim away and abandoned her outside.
The case aroused tremendous public attention in both China and Germany. The male culprit's parents are both police officers, and dpa reported there had been temporary suspicion that the parents might have an influence on the investigation.
Chinese expatriates and overseas students across Germany had held memorials in various localities following the tragedy, also demanding a fair and just handling of the case.
