From admired music teacher to accepting the life of a call girl for money, Yangwen spiraled into a vortex of crime, becoming a prisoner at the age of 20.
Killer: Yangwen
Victim: Shangfeng
Early morning on November 15, 1999, a farmer in Danquan County, Cangqiu City, Henan province, reported to the police after discovering a charred body in the woods at the foot of a bridge.
The forensic examination revealed that the victim was a male, over 30 years old, about 1.7 meters tall, murdered, dismembered, and burned. Only a few items were found at the scene: a burnt mobile phone, a lighter, a piece of cardboard box, and several scraps of clothing.
Through investigation, the police traced the brand of the mobile phone and the lighter to a large hotel in the area. The remaining clothing pieces were also traced through searches in various wholesale markets. At the household goods market in Zhengzhou City, the police identified the cardboard pieces near the body as belonging to the box of the Konka 2587D1 TV.
On November 27, the city television station reported seeking the identity of the victim. Two Shang brothers in Xiayi County recognized the descriptive features very similar to their younger brother who had lost contact.
On November 29, the two individuals went to the Danquan County police station to identify the body. After comparing information about appearance, clothing, and the mobile phone provided by the family, the police confirmed the victim as Shangfeng, 36 years old.
Through interrogations of the victim’s relatives and friends, investigators obtained crucial clues: Shangfeng left home and disappeared after receiving a message around midnight on November 13.
Expanding the investigation, on the morning of November 30, the police tracked down the person who messaged Shangfeng on the night of the 13th, a woman named Yangwen, renting a room in Shangqiu. Investigators secretly monitored her residence and apprehended her around 4 p.m. the following day.
During questioning, the girl identified herself as Yangwen, 19 years old, from Lankao County. The police noticed that the location where the victim’s body was dumped in Danquan County was a route Yangwen had to pass through if traveling from Shangqiu to her hometown. At Yangwen’s residence, the police found the Konka 2587D1 TV set but couldn’t locate the box. Upon investigation, it was revealed that Yangwen was the one who messaged Shangfeng on the night of November 13.
Initially denying all accusations during interrogation, Yangwen eventually confessed to the crime after two days and nights of psychological struggle, facing numerous pieces of evidence. She disclosed her accomplice was her 17-year-old brother, who was arrested on December 3.
Born in 1980 into a poor peasant family with two younger brothers, Yangwen was praised for being diligent and academically excellent since childhood, always ranking at the top of her class. In July 1995, after completing middle school, Yangwen was admitted to a vocational school to study music. The family had to borrow 25,000 yuan to gather enough money for her two-year education.
In 1997, Yangwen graduated with outstanding results and was assigned to teach at a secondary school in Dingtao City, Shandong province, in July of the same year. With a stable job, considered noble, Yangwen became the envy of the villagers.
However, the dream of Yangwen’s beautiful life shattered just a month into her job. Holding a salary of over 300 yuan, Yangwen calculated that after deducting living expenses, there wasn’t much left. With this salary, she believed she couldn’t survive in the city, let alone send money back to help her family.
Yangwen couldn’t help but feel jealous of her classmates who she considered “inferior” but now had support by marrying wealthy husbands or working as service staff at entertainment venues, always dressed beautifully, wearing makeup, and jewelry. The constant comparison gradually destabilized Yangwen’s mental state.
During this time, Yangwen’s health declined, often vomiting blood. She was diagnosed with pulmonary artery bleeding, which could be treated with nursing care. Just as Yangwen was mentally and physically exhausted, encountering poverty and illness, her boyfriend demanded a breakup. The Continuous difficulties blow hastened Yangwen’s descent into the abyss of life.
Believing that Dingtao City brought bad luck, Yangwen decided to give up her teaching job. After resigning, she hid from her family in Shangqiu. After a few days of wandering and job searching without success, Yangwen realized that she had no skills other than her knowledge of music, a job not as easy to find as she had imagined. Out of options, Yangwen temporarily worked as a waitress at a hotel, earning just over 300 RMB. Discontent with the low pay, she soon moved to another hotel, but the salary remained low. After a few months of drifting, Yangwen felt regretful, longing for the stable job she had initially rejected, but it was too late.
Unable to bear the hardship of life, Yangwen turned to work as a call girl at the hotel, plummeting into a deep abyss.
While in this profession, Yangwen met Lac, a 42-year-old bank manager. Lac’s sophistication and charm deeply impressed her upon their first meeting. Shortly after, Yangwen became Lac’s secret lover, financially supported by him. Over the following year, Lac frequently took Yangwen out for entertainment. By this time, Yangwen had completely transformed from a timid girl into a sophisticated woman.
However, Yangwen’s stability was shattered when Lac accidentally discovered another man lying on her bed, which led to him angrily ending their relationship. That man turned out to be Shangfeng.
According to Yangwen’s confession, she met Shangfeng when she was being investigated by the police for suspected theft. A friend of Yangwen asked Shangfeng, a member of the neighborhood patrol team assisting the police in patrolling, to help smooth things over so she could be removed from the list of suspects. Shangfeng took advantage of this opportunity to harass Yangwen and coerce her into a relationship.
Shangfeng had no stable job, having once owned a nightclub. He was married with children but still engaged in promiscuous behavior. Yangwen claimed that Shangfeng physically abused her and deceived her out of money. He refused to return Yangwen’s 3,900 RMB savings, confiscated by the police earlier, using the excuse of needing money to entertain others to force her to reveal the password. When he returned it, there were only two RMB left in the account.
Thinking about being deceived out of her hard-earned money by Shangfeng and now having her relationship with Lac destroyed, Yangwen was determined to escape from Shangfeng by any means.
The night before the murder, Shangfeng received a message to meet and immediately went to Yangwen’s residence. She asked him not to bother her anymore but was refused. Shangfeng threatened to tell Yangwen’s family the truth to force her into a long-term relationship, even threatening to throw acid if she didn’t comply.
Raped, threatened, and verbally abused throughout the night, Yangwen quietly plotted to eliminate Shangfeng. On the morning of November 14, 1999, Yangwen bought porridge, added highly toxic rat poison, then woke up Shangfeng, pretending to agree to be his lover. Thinking Yangwen wouldn’t dare oppose him, Shangfeng ate all the porridge.
While disposing of the body, Yangwen’s younger brother happened to visit and was persuaded by her to help dispose of the body.
Around 10 p.m. on November 14, Yangwen and her brother took a taxi to transport a cardboard box to Danquan County, buying a large can of gasoline on the way to burn the body in the forest. Afterward, Yangwen returned home while her brother took a train back to their hometown that same night.
On November 17, the Wednesday after the murder, Yangwen went to Qingdao for a seaside vacation, enjoying the feeling of freedom. A week later, she returned to Shangqiu, unaware that just a few days later, the police would find evidence and arrest her.
In March 2000, Yangwen was sentenced to death for intentional homicide, while her brother was also punished by the law for violating the body.
