A young man has been accused of killing his stepmother in an ongoing trial at the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court, reports Information Times.

The body of Wang Ying, 26, was found at a bridge in the Tianhe District on July 25 last year. Her stepson, who had been missing since the woman's death, was caught in Foshan this September. The stepson admitted to the murder in court, claiming he had been physically abused by Wang.

After paying a hitman 40,000 yuan (US$4,830), he lured Wang to a van in which the hired killer strangled the woman, he said.

But other family members have refuted the stepson's allegation of physical abuse.
Wang was only 20 when she married the young man's father. "How could such a young woman physically abuse a then-teenage boy?" asked Wang's mother.

The stepson, meanwhile, has been described as a "prodigal" who spent up to 30,000 yuan (US$3,625) a month, took drugs and kept low company.

His lawyer is also trying to prove that he was not 18 when he committed the crime, even though the prosecution found he was born in 1982.

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