Chinese Couple Executed For Tossing Away Their Kids To Start New Family

A Chinese couple was reportedly executed on Wednesday for tossing two children out of an apartment building, regarding them as the "obstacle" and wanting to start a "new family" together. The horrific action has caused nationwide outrage in China, resulting in stringent punishment for the couple. 

Zhang Bo and his girlfriend Ye Chengchen were found guilty of getting "rid" of Zhang Bo's children from his previous marriage. Zhang misled the investigation by saying he was "asleep" when the kids "accidentally" fell off the window and only woke up to people shouting downstairs, while according to the court, Ye helped him stage the crime.

Chinese Couple Executed For Tossing Off Two Children

In November 2020, a couple in Chongqing, China, were found guilty of throwing their two young children from a 15th-floor window, resulting in their deaths. The motive was reportedly their desire to start a new family without the "burden" of the children, regarded as "obstacles" in their relationship.

Both individuals were sentenced to death in December 2021 by the Chongqing No. 5 Intermediate People's Court. The Supreme People's Court rejected their appeals, and they were executed on January 31, 2024. Zhang was convicted of the double murder of his kids while Ye was convicted of forcing her boyfriend to murder the children and helping him stage the crime as an "accidental fall."

Court's Verdict

The execution took place after a long process of pleas by the couple, and the Supreme Court of China approved the death sentence rejecting the couple's plea, finding the couple was equally influenced to commit the crime, playing the primary role in the crime as principal offenders, no less guilty of the crime than others. 

The motive of the crime, as determined by the court, was "despicable" and "brutal," warranting severe consequences, as per the local media. It was not clear how the couple were put to death on Wednesday; however, as per the Daily Mail, the most common method of execution in China is lethal injections and the couple must have been put to death using the same. 

Relationships And Crime

Zhang began an extramarital affair with Ye, who was unaware of Zhang's marital status and his having two kids with his wife. Zhang has two children with his previous wife, Chen Meilin, whom he divorced in February 2020, months before murdering their children. After Zhang's divorce from Chen, Ye allegedly forced him to kill his two children, whom he regarded as "obstacles" for them to get married and start a new family together, and saw them as a "burden on their future lives together."

Zhang and Chen (his previous wife) shared two kids, a two-year-old daughter named Zhang Ruixue and a one-year-old son named Zhang Yangrui, whom he threw outside his apartment shared with Ye (his girlfriend) and claimed he was sleeping while the kids fell off the window and woke up to people shouting at the site downstairs.

Mother's Reaction

Chen Meilin, the mother of the two deceased toddlers and ex-wife of the murderer, shared that Zhang had asked her to take care of their daughter on the day he killed their children. Chen, unable to express her profound guilt, said, "The moment I heard my kids were actually thrown out of the 15th floor by their father and the mistress, I couldn’t find any words to describe my feelings."

The deeply tormenting mother also added in her statement, "I couldn’t imagine what my kids had experienced from the 15th floor to the ground. Were they desperate? Were they afraid?" which explained a mother's anguish at finding out about the horrifying tragedy of her kids. 

Social Media And Reactions

The case sparked outrage and debate in China, with many expressing grief for the children and questioning the motivations of the couple. There were also discussions about the role of mental health and societal pressures in such tragedies.

A video has surfaced viral of grief-stricken Zhang banging his head on the wall and sobbing uncontrollably at what he has done, as per The Express reports. Sending shockwaves across the country and the world, the couple's crime was stated as "cold-blooded" premeditation, looking at the age of the victims. 

The couple's execution quickly rose to the top trending topic on China's social media site Weibo on Wednesday, getting nearly 200 million views. In a post related to the incident, news agency Xinhua read the comment, "Today is truly a good day.". While another read, "The punishment fits the crime."