Chen Yongfeng

Chen Yongfeng (Chinese: 陈勇锋; 1983 – April 7, 2004), known as The Butcher, was a Chinese serial killer who operated in the Wenzhou area in early 2003. Before his capture, Chen killed and dismembered 10 people, all of them were scrap merchants whom he invited into his home.

Early life

The exact date of birth isn't clear, but Chen was born sometime in 1983 in Qingtian County, Zhejiang. He left school after graduating from elementary school, afterwards he started to shuffle around odd jobs, includingfluffing cotton for nearly half a decade. However by the age of 19, he appeared to have found work as a garbage collector.

Murders

Beginning on February 24, 2003 Chen began his killing spree. His first murder occurred when he wanted to buy a disinfection cabinet but had not enough cash. He would find his victims at trash collecting sites he frequently visited for work, and invite them to his home where he would kill them, succeeding this he robbed their corpses of money and jewelry, then dismembered them and discarded the subsequent remains in a river. He was arrested on May 24, after being caught in the act of dismembering his tenth and final murder victim. In a subsequent house search, police found that Chen had stolen a total of 10,032 yuan.

Trial

The trial of Chen Yongfeng was opened by the Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court later that year, with him half admitting his guilt. At the same time, there was a civil trial for Chen, was being told to pay the funeral expenses to the relatives of his victims. In the end, the verdict was guilty, and Chen was sentenced to death on December 5, 2003. On April 7 of the following year, Chen was executed.