Angered by her boyfriend’s cold rejection, He Fang devised a plan to fabricate evidence of an extramarital affair, using the pretext of meeting for the last time to murder her.
Both He Fang and Liu Quan were born into farming families in Jiahe County, Hunan province. They attended the same school from elementary to high school, becoming lovers after entering university in 2005.
Both studied medicine, but Liu Quan was in Hunan province, while He Fang was in Guangxi province. Despite the long-distance relationship, He Fang frequently called her boyfriend, sometimes making multiple calls a day. She spent most of her living expenses and scholarships on buying gifts and train or bus tickets to visit her boyfriend.
However, He Fang increasingly exhibited controlling behavior. She snooped through Liu Quan’s phone, deleting all female contacts. Some female students were even scolded by He Fang due to misunderstandings of having ambiguous relationships with Liu Quan. The two argued many times because of this issue.
Upon graduating from university, He Fang gave up pursuing a master’s degree to make Liu Quan feel guilty and marry her. Afterward, they both returned to Jiahe County, with He Fang becoming a pharmacist and Liu Quan becoming a surgeon at two different hospitals.
Despite frequent arguments during their 5-year relationship, the couple remained close and contemplated marriage. Liu Quan’s family renovated their home in the countryside so that the two could have a place to stay when on vacation.
But just a few months into living together, He Fang demanded that her boyfriend quickly buy or rent a house in the city due to conflicts with Liu Quan’s family. He Fang claimed that only Liu Quan’s father treated her kindly, while others showed discomfort towards her.
However, Liu Quan was the only son in the family, pampered by his parents and older sister since childhood, so he refused to move out, even suggesting breaking up if He Fang disagreed.
Initially, He Fang refused, demanding compensation for her youth. After many arguments, Liu Quan agreed to pay 10,000 RMB as a breakup fee.
On June 23, 2010, seeing Liu Quan’s firm attitude, He Fang also agreed to accept the money and signed a peaceful breakup agreement. However, just a few days later, He Fang regretted it. She repeatedly called, waited outside Liu Quan’s house to cry and beg, but was always rejected.
He Fang blamed her boyfriend for his coldness and decided to seek revenge. Taking advantage of her pharmacist status, she secretly took 20 sleeping pills from the hospital.
On July 22, 2010, when traveling to Dongjiang Lake with colleagues, He Fang realized it was a good opportunity to act because she could fabricate evidence of an extramarital affair.
At 9:00 PM on July 22nd, after all her colleagues returned to the hotel to rest, He Fang took a taxi back to the city and rented a room at the Red Sun Hotel. She then called Liu Quan, saying she wanted to meet one last time to break up amicably.
Liu Quan arrived at the hotel after finishing his shift, and the two engaged in sexual relations. Although they had planned to kill him, at this point, He Fang still hoped for a reconciliation, promising to change if they got back together. However, Liu Quan stated that he only agreed to this because it was the last time, and there would be no further relationship.
He Fang pretended to go to the bathroom, crushed 20 sleeping pills into powder, and put them in a bottle of drink, which she gave to Liu Quan. Thirsty, Liu Quan drank the entire bottle and fell into a deep sleep. Around 3:00 AM, He Fang used a pillow to cover Liu Quan’s mouth and nose until he stopped breathing.
At 7:00 AM on July 23rd, He Fang went to a nearby supermarket to buy two red suitcases and a cleaver, then returned to the hotel to dismember the victim in the bathroom. She cleaned up the crime scene and checked out, and the hotel staff did not notice anything unusual.
Around 9:00 AM, He Fang hailed a taxi, asking the driver to help transfer two suitcases from the upper floor, falsely claiming that they contained only books.
Getting out of the taxi at the gate of a school, He Fang then took a bus to an abandoned house in a remote rural area to hide the suitcase. Afterward, she hurried back with her colleagues to continue the sightseeing trip. Taking advantage of the outing, she threw Liu Quan’s mobile phone and belongings into the lake.
In the evening, He Fang returned to the abandoned house, stuffed the body into the wall crevice, used bricks to seal it up, and disposed of any evidence, burning the suitcase to erase any traces.
48 hours after Liu Quan went missing, his family noticed something unusual and reported it to the police station. Liu Quan’s parents had called He Fang, but she claimed to know nothing.
During the investigation of Liu Quan’s call records, the police discovered that his last call was from He Fang. When summoned for interrogation, He Fang claimed that they only exchanged house keys, and that day she and her colleagues were out at Dongjiang Lake, providing an alibi.
The police also found a phone number from the Red Sun Hotel in Liu Quan’s call records. Checking the surveillance cameras, they saw He Fang entering and leaving the hotel, while Liu Quan never left the room since entering at 9:00 PM on July 22nd. Upon searching the room, the police found some blood stains splattered on the wall of the bathroom.
Faced with the evidence, He Fang admitted to murdering Liu Quan and disposing of the body.
After being arrested, He Fang lied about being pregnant, requesting bail pending trial, but was exposed during a hospital examination.
On August 25, 2011, He Fang was sentenced to death, with the execution postponed for two years for the crime of intentional homicide. The verdict angered the victim’s family, who felt the punishment was too lenient. After the prosecutor’s office appealed, the appellate court amended the verdict to death penalty, which was carried out on February 5, 2013.
