Second trial begins for former Peking University student who killed mother

Wu Xieyu, a former Peking University student, stood trial again on Friday more than a year after he was sentenced to death for multiple crimes.

The case is being heard in the second courtroom of the Intermediate People's Court in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province. It started at 9 am.

The 28-year-old, who killed his mother, was sentenced to death by the court in August 2021 for intentional homicide, fraud and illegally purchasing identity cards. He was also fined 103,000 yuan ($14,639).

Wu appealed the sentence to the Fujian High People's Court.

The high court began hearing the appeal at the end of 2021, but in April last year, it said that the trial had to be temporarily halted due to force majeure factors.

According the ThePaper, a news outlet, Wu is currently incarcerated at the Fuzhou No 1 Detention House, where he is reportedly emotionally stable and is spending most of his time writing.

According to the intermediate court's judgment, Wu thought the life of his 48-year-old mother, Xie Tianqin, was meaningless after his father died of an illness, so he prepared to kill her in early 2015 and bought items online for this purpose.

On July 10 that year, when Xie arrived home, Wu hit her repeatedly in the head and face with a dumbbell, causing her death. He then wrapped her body in 75 layers of material, including bedsheets, plastic sheets and activated carbon bags, and added refrigerator deodorant.

Wu then "borrowed" 1.44 million yuan from his relatives and friends after telling them his mother would accompany him while he traveled overseas to study. In reality, he squandered the money.

He later purchased more than 10 ID cards to hide his identity and avoid arrest.

The case drew public attention when Xie's body was found on Feb 14, 2016, in her apartment in the faculty dormitory of a middle school after the family become suspicious when she failed to contact them for an extended period of time.

Wu was named as the primary suspect by local police, who offered a reward for information leading to his arrest in March 2016.

Wu was captured in Chongqing in April 2019 after being on the run for more than three years.

His first trial began in the intermediate court in December 2020.

The case was widely discussed on social media. Many were particularly surprised in part because according to Chinese media, Wu had been a top student at Peking University, a leading institution renowned around the world.