Marital infidelity, murder of children, all to win the favor of a new lover
Compiled from: Sichuan Observation, The Paper, Chongqing Fifth Intermediate People's Court
Case review
After Zhang and Ms. Chen married in August 2017, they had a daughter, Zhang Jia (victim, died at age 2), and a son, Zhang Yi (victim, died at age 1).
Around April 2019, Zhang proposed divorce to Ms. Chen while concealing his marriage and children to pursue an online acquaintance, Ye Chen. Around August of the same year, Zhang and Ye Chen privately began a romantic relationship. Later, Ye Chen learned that Zhang had children but continued the relationship.
In February 2020, Zhang and Ms. Chen divorced by agreement, stipulating that Zhang Jia would be raised by Ms. Chen, Zhang Yi would be raised by Zhang until age six, then by Ms. Chen. Ye Chen repeatedly told Zhang that she and her parents could not accept him having children, and the two conspired multiple times to kill Zhang Jia and Zhang Yi by staging a high-altitude fall. In June of the same year, Ye Chen repeatedly urged Zhang via WeChat to carry out the act. In October, Zhang and Ye Chen agreed to pick up Zhang Jia under the pretext of buying her clothes and bring her to Zhang's home to wait for an opportunity. On October 25, Zhang had his mother contact Ms. Chen to bring Zhang Jia to his rented apartment in a Nan'an district complex, but the plan was foiled because Ms. Chen stayed. On November 1, Zhang again had Ms. Chen bring Zhang Jia to the home and stay overnight.
Around 3:30 PM on November 2, 2020, while no one else was home, Zhang threw Zhang Jia and Zhang Yi, who were playing in the second bedroom, from the bay window of that room, causing Zhang Jia's immediate death and Zhang Yi's death after failed medical rescue.
The prosecution argued that defendants Zhang and Ye Chen jointly committed intentional homicide, resulting in two deaths, and should be held criminally liable for intentional homicide according to law.
Relevant legal provisions
Article 232 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China [Intentional Homicide]
Whoever intentionally commits homicide shall be sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years; if the circumstances are relatively minor, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years.
Article 25 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China [Concept of Joint Crime]
A joint crime refers to an intentional crime committed by two or more persons jointly. A joint negligent crime committed by two or more persons shall not be punished as a joint crime; those who should bear criminal responsibility shall be punished separately according to the crimes they have committed.
Article 26 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China [Principal Offender]
Those who organize or lead a criminal group to carry out criminal activities or play a major role in a joint crime are principal offenders.
A relatively fixed criminal organization formed by three or more persons for the purpose of jointly committing crimes is a criminal group.
The ringleader who organizes or leads a criminal group shall be punished for all the crimes committed by the group.
For a principal offender other than those specified in the third paragraph, he shall be punished for all the crimes in which he participated, organized, or directed.
Article 27 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China [Accessory Offender]
An accessory is one who plays a secondary or auxiliary role in a joint crime.
An accessory shall be given a lighter or mitigated punishment or be exempted from punishment.
Article 28 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China [Coerced Offender]
For those who participate in a crime under duress, the punishment shall be mitigated or exempted according to the circumstances of their crime.
Article 29 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China [Instigator]
Whoever instigates another to commit a crime shall be punished according to the role he plays in the joint crime. Whoever instigates a person under the age of 18 to commit a crime shall be given a heavier punishment.
If the instigated person does not commit the instigated crime, the instigator may be given a lighter or mitigated punishment.
[1] The author's perspective
If the facts of the case as charged by the procuratorial organ are verified, Zhang Mou is undoubtedly guilty of intentional homicide, and it involves killing his own biological children by cruel means. As the saying goes, even a fierce tiger does not eat its own cubs. Zhang Mou personally threw his two children out of the window, showing that he has lost all humanity and conscience. The verdict awaiting Zhang Mou may be the death penalty.
So how should Ye Mouchen be characterized?
Regarding the theory of co-conspirator joint principal offenders in criminal law, where two or more persons conspire to commit a certain crime, and only some of them, based on a shared intent, actually carry out the crime, those who did not directly commit the crime but conspired in it are jointly considered principal offenders of the conspired crime along with those who did.
In this case, although the evidence does not indicate that Ye Mouchen personally committed the murder, she repeatedly conspired with Zhang to kill the two children through face-to-face meetings and WeChat chats. Based on the content of the indictment, from the initiation of the criminal intent to the conspiracy to commit murder, Ye Mouchen played a substantive controlling role in the joint crime, and she should be identified as the principal offender, falling under the category of co-conspirator joint principal offender.
