Man pleads guilty to Canadian model's murder

By Wang Zhenghua (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-18 08:19

SHANGHAI: A man pleaded guilty here Monday to the murder of Canadian model Diana O'Brien.

Chen Jun, 18, said he murdered the 23-year-old in her apartment on the night of July 6, before robbing her of about 11,000 yuan ($1,600) worth of items, including a laptop computer, a camera and a cell phone, the Shanghai No 1 intermediate people's court heard.

Chen, who moved to Shanghai from Anhui province in May, said in court that he did not know O'Brien, but chose her because security at her apartment building on Zhaohua Road in the Changning district of Shanghai, was lax.

He told the court that he broke into O'Brien's room and was trying to steal her laptop when the woman walked out of her bedroom and confronted him.

A fight ensued and Chen stabbed O'Brien, then demanded she give him all of her money.

Neighbors said later that they had heard screams coming from the woman's room, but assumed it was nothing more than a lovers' tiff, so did not call the police.

Chen admitted to stabbing O'Brien, but said he also called police to report the act.

Officers were sent to the apartment building but left after finding nothing untoward, the court heard.

Chen said he fled the scene without taking the possessions, but returned three hours later to get them.

O'Brien's body was still warm at that time, he said.

Prosecutors said Chen committed the crime because he was short of money.

When he was confronted, he stabbed O'Brien several times in the chest and stomach.

The woman later died as a result of massive blood loss, they said. O'Brien's roommate found her blooded body the following morning in the stairwell of the apartment building.

The roommate also said O'Brien had been unhappy and had talked of returning home to Canada.

Chen's lawyer claimed his client was suffering from stress and depression at the time of the attack, and asked for psychiatric tests to be conducted. He also said the police had failed in their duty to save the woman's life, after Chen had reported the crime.

No verdict was reached Monday.