Murder of Yang Xin

On January 21, 2009, Zhu Haiyang (朱海洋), a graduate student from Ningbo, China, decapitated another graduate student, Yang Xin (杨欣), at Virginia Tech.

Zhu asked Yang out, however, Yang already had a boyfriend whom she intended to marry. After learning about this, Zhu attacked Yang and beheaded her. Zhu was then sentenced to life in prison for murder.

Background
Zhu Haiyang was 25 years old and Yang Xin was 22 at the time of her death.

Yang Xin
On January 8, 2009, Ms. Yang, from Beijing, arrived to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg to study for a master’s degree in accounting.[1][3]

Yang Xin went to social events with other international students and had settled in and started making friends.[8] Yang was described as a “sweet young woman”.

Zhu Haiyang
Zhu was from Ningbo, China. He pursued a PhD in agricultural and applied economics at Virginia Tech,[1] starting in August, 2008.[2][4]

Zhu was initially helping Yang adapt to campus life.

Zhu had fallen in love with Yang and even wrote a love letter (found in his dormitory) expressing his deep affection for her.[2] It expressed that Yang Xin was beautiful and that Zhu would treasure her forever. Zhu had also asked Yang to be his girlfriend.[2]

But on the morning of January 20, 2009, Yang rejected Zhu as Yang already had a boyfriend she was planning to marry. In a letter titled “Will”, Zhu said he was heartbroken by Yang’s rejection and that Yang’s fiance could not compare to Zhu’s background and education. Zhu also wrote that Yang should have seen that Zhu would have been the best husband for her.

—

Man pleads guilty in Va. Tech decapitation
A former Virginia Tech student accused of decapitating another student pleads guilty to first-degree murder.
Dec. 22, 2009

A former Virginia Tech student accused of decapitating another student at a campus eatery pleaded guilty to murder Monday as prosecutors described the killer as an obsessed, jilted lover.

Haiyang Zhu had fallen in love with Xin Yang but she rejected him, saying she had a boyfriend she planned to marry, prosecutors said in revealing a motive for the first time.

Zhu faces up to life in prison. He did not say why he killed the woman during the plea hearing.

Prosecutor Brad Finch said on the morning of Jan. 21, Zhu bought the 8-inch butcher knife used in the murder, two other knives and a claw hammer. He also called the 22-year-old a dozen times after buying the weapons.

Finch also cited a letter Zhu wrote while in jail, which said Yang’s rejection “forced him to kill her” because “he loved her too much.”

“Xin broke his heart on the morning of January 20th when she told him that she had a boyfriend and that they planned to get married,” the letter said, according to Finch.

Before the killing, Zhu penned what Finch termed a love letter that was found in her dorm room after her death. The letter was written shortly after Zhu first met her and indicated he had “fallen deeply in love.”

“She makes him happy and fulfilled, that she is beautiful and that he will treasure her forever,” Finch said. “The defendant asked Xin to be his girlfriend.”

Finch also described the attack in detail, noting that Yang suffered numerous defensive wounds to her hands and arms as she tried to fend off Zhu. She eventually fell and he severed her head. He was holding it when police arrived.

No argument heard before attack
About seven other people who were in the shop at the time told police the two hadn’t been arguing before the attack.

The killing stunned a campus that still had vivid memories of the mass slayings in April 2007, when a student gunman shot 32 people and then took his own life. The stabbing was the first slaying on campus since then.

It appeared Yang, who was from Beijing, had met Zhu of Ningbo, China, only recently, Kim Beisecker, the director of Cranwell International Center, has said. Zhu, a doctoral student in agricultural and applied economics, had been assisting her in adjusting to life at Tech, something the 500 Chinese students often do for new members in their community.

Montgomery Circuit Judge Robert Turk said Zhu faces up to life in prison when sentenced on April 19.

While a fellow teaching assistant described Zhu as personable, his landlord said Zhu behaved oddly and was “belligerent” at times.

Landlord Will Segar said Zhu refused to turn on the heat in the apartment he rented with two others, and as a result the pipes froze and burst. When Segar installed a thermostat that kept the heat at 65 degrees, he said Zhu shut off a breaker in the electric box so the heat wouldn’t run.

Fellow teaching assistant Ken Stanton said he didn’t know Zhu well but had observed that he had good social skills.

“He had friends and he was a TA,” said Stanton, 30, who is studying engineering education. “You can’t be a TA and not be social.”

Zhu was a doctoral student in agricultural and applied economics from Ningbo, China, who arrived at the school in August 2008.

—

Man Who Beheaded Classmate Gets Life in Prison
April 19, 2010

A former Virginia Tech graduate student from China who prosecutors said decapitated a classmate in a campus cafe because she rejected his romantic advances was sentenced to life in prison on Monday.

Montgomery County Circuit Judge Robert Turk sentenced Haiyang Zhu to life without parole, said Commonwealth’s Attorney Brad Finch. Zhu pleaded guilty in December to first-degree murder in the death of fellow Chinese student Xin Yang. He admitted decapitating the 22-year-old Yang as the pair had coffee at a campus eatery in January 2009.

It appeared Yang, who was from Beijing, had only recently met Zhu of Ningbo, China. Zhu, a doctoral student in agricultural and applied economics, had been helping her adjust to life at Tech.

Zhu’s plea did not qualify for the death penalty under Virginia law.

Finch said he was pleased that the judge imposed the maximum punishment for the “extremely brutal murder.”

Zhu’s attorney, Stephanie Cox, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment. But Zhu apologized at the hearing to the victim’s family and the community, Finch said.

The killing stunned a campus that still had vivid memories of the mass slayings in April 2007, when a student gunman from South Korea killed 32 people and then took his own life. The stabbing was the first slaying on campus since then.

Prosecutors had described in detail a heartbroken Zhu who had had fallen in love with Yang, only to be rebuffed when she told him she had a boyfriend she planned to marry.

At a December plea hearing, Finch cited a letter Zhu wrote while in jail, which said Yang’s rejection “forced him to kill her” because “he loved her too much.”

Finch also described the attack in detail, noting that Yang suffered numerous defensive wounds to her hands and arms as she tried to fend off Zhu. She eventually fell and he severed her head. He was holding it when police arrived.

About seven other people who were in the shop at the time told police the two hadn’t been arguing before the attack.

Corey Cox, a cafe worker in Tech’s Graduate Life Center who witnessed the attack, testified at a preliminary hearing last May that Zhu lunged at Yang and began cutting off her head with a knife. Cox said Zhu did not appear to be angry, but stared at Yang with “just a really blank, determined look.”

—

朱海洋

2009年弗吉尼亚理工大学凶杀案当事人

朱海洋(Haiyang Zhu ，音译)，上海海洋大学(原上海水产大学)经济贸易学院2001级国贸专业学生。于2008年秋季留学美国，在弗吉尼亚理工大学攻读农业和应用经济学博士学位。2009年1月于弗吉尼亚理工大学一咖啡厅残忍杀害一同胞女留学生，”震惊世界”引起社会关注与讨论。

这是弗吉尼亚理工第二次被亚裔学生的暴力案件所震惊。2007年4月16日，韩裔学生赵承熙用170发子弹和33条人命，留下了美国校园暴力史上最为血腥和黑暗的一页。

中文名 朱海洋
国 籍 中国
毕业院校 上海海洋大学（原上海水产大学）
主要成就 托福考试663分
出生地 中国宁波
性 别 男

目录

1个人成绩

2事件

个人成绩

英语突出。朱海洋于2002年6月、12月分别以96、94分的优异成绩通过大学英语四、六级考试，在口语考试中获B+；2003年10月托福考试663分（满分677分）；2004年6月GRE考试，数学部分满分800分，作文仅扣1分，总成绩为1370+5；2004年6月参加全国大学生英语竞赛，力挫群雄，夺得一等奖。此外，朱海洋每学期均获人民奖学金，并曾获得2003年上海水产大学“侯朝海”奖学金，学习之余，爱好广泛。

事件

【朱海洋事件】1月21日晚上19点06分，弗吉尼亚当地警方接到报警电话，称一名女学生在弗吉尼亚理工大学研究生生活中心咖啡厅被杀害。4分钟后，警方赶到了犯罪现场，发现一名女生身中多刀，倒卧在血泊中。当场遇上了犯罪嫌疑人朱海洋，这名来自中国的25岁男研究生立刻被拘禁起来（现已送监狱）。

美国弗吉尼亚理工大学警方22日证实，这所学校21日发生一起凶杀事件，被害人杨欣(音译)和犯罪嫌疑人朱海洋(音译)均为中国留学生。警方说，眼下尚不清楚朱海洋的犯罪动机，他已受到一级谋杀罪指控。并禁止保释。

被害人杨欣,女,（ Xin Yang，音译）来自中国北京，现年22岁，1月8日刚刚抵达美国，在弗吉尼亚理工大学学习会计学。

一起喝咖啡 突然砍死人弗吉尼亚理工大学网站公布的消息说，美国东部时间21日19时06分，凶杀事件发生在这所学校研究生生活中心一层的一家餐厅内。

当时餐厅里除朱、杨两人，还有7人。现场一些目击者的证词显示，朱海洋和杨欣当时同在餐厅中喝咖啡，事先没有发生口角，但朱突然持刀袭击杨，造成后者当场死亡。

警方于19时10分赶到现场，当场抓获了犯罪嫌疑人。受害人已无生命迹象。警方还在现场发现了凶器，是一把厨房使用的刀具。 据悉，犯罪嫌疑人的手段极其残忍，受害人惨遭斩首。美国司法部门资料显示，当弗吉尼亚理工大学的警员尼科尔·埃尔文赶到事发现场时，看到朱海洋身上沾满鲜血，手中正提着杨欣的头颅。

传朱海洋曾苦追受害女生死者杨欣现年22岁，本月8日刚由北京抵达美国，开始在弗吉尼亚理工大学学习会计专业；嫌疑人朱海洋现年25岁，来自宁波，2008年秋季入学，攻读农业和应用经济博士学位。

根据校方提供的紧急联络人档案，朱海洋是杨欣登记的紧急联络人之一，因此证实两人相识。校方说，由于杨欣初来乍到，朱海洋就帮助她熟悉新环境。这样的互助关系在该校500名中国留学生中是惯例。

据央视报道，认识朱海洋的该校中国研究生说，凶嫌与死者在中国时并不认识，杨欣8日初抵达时，人生地不熟，通过同校学生介绍而由朱海洋前往接机，由于当时学校仍在放寒假，宿舍尚未开放，杨欣曾有几天借宿于朱在校外租赁的公寓。

朱海洋的一个朋友说，在凶杀案发生前10天左右，朱海洋曾告诉他，自己很喜欢杨欣。朱海洋的这个朋友也是弗吉尼亚理工大学学生。不愿意透露姓名的他称:“朱海洋说，他很喜欢杨欣，想成为她的男朋友。”但朱海洋并没有向他透露，杨欣是否对他也有好感。

另外，也有学生说，朱海洋过去几周苦追杨欣，可能因此萌生杀机。

嫌犯曾夺全国一等奖

朱海洋毕业于上海海洋大学(原上海水产大学)，是该校2001级国贸专业学生。在该校的网站上，记者找到了7条与朱海洋相关的新闻。其中还有一篇对朱海洋的专访报道，文章这样介绍他:“朱海洋同学2003年10月托福考试663分(满分677分);2004年6月GRE考试，数学部分满分800分，作文仅扣1分，总成绩为1370+5;2004年6月参加全国大学生英语竞赛，力挫群雄，夺得一等奖。”

2005年，朱海洋直升该校经贸学院硕士研究生。研究生期间，曾住在朱海洋寝室隔壁的一名同学称:“对海洋同学的第一反应是英语厉害，真的厉害。老师很器重他，因为学习很优秀。此外，心思细腻，生活也是井井有条，很理性(当然现在说来似乎没有多少人会同意)，能力强，性格温和。”

房东说他好斗 同学说他礼貌

朱海洋的房东威尔·西格事后说：“朱海洋十分粗鲁和好斗。”

西格说，因为朱海洋在地毯上乱放火柴，他们曾经争吵。西格说：“我曾向一名当地police反映过朱海洋这个人，朱海洋总是给别人找麻烦，他简直就是公害。那名警官说他无能为力，让我去找学校的负责人解决。”他找过弗吉尼亚理工大学的负责人，但朱海洋听不进任何忠告。

西格还说，大约在1月12日，朱海洋带着一名年轻的中国女孩来找房子，女孩自称是1月8日到校的。当时朱海洋曾想帮她挑选公寓，但女孩并没有提供相关证明，随后两人离开。

另一名与朱海洋有过接触的房主说，朱海洋近期的举止“十分古怪，异乎寻常”。

朱海洋的同学却说，朱海洋为人“有礼貌、很谦虚”。对于房东辛格对朱海洋“粗鲁、好斗、很不好相处”的评价，弗吉尼亚理工大学国际中心主任科姆·贝斯克认为，这是由文化差异产生的误解。

在贝斯克看来，朱海洋是一名很有礼貌的年轻人。

弗吉尼亚理工大学工程教育学的助教肯·斯坦腾说，朱海洋“有不少朋友，他还是我们学校农业经济系的一名助教。如果你社交方面不是很强，你不可能成为学校的助教”。

弗吉尼亚理工大学另一名李姓中国留学生也认为，朱海洋是一个温和的人。“每次碰面，他都会打招呼。我觉得大部分人对他应该也是这个印象。他的朋友实在不理解，他怎么会做出这样极端的举动。这一切发生得太突然了。”

校方国际中心官员凯恩·贝塞克说，因为受害人杨欣刚到学校，校方对她和朱海洋之间的关系了解不多，国际中心正协助警方开展调查。她回忆两人给她的印象时说：“杨欣非常甜美，朱海洋则很有礼貌。两人此前并没有发生矛盾的迹象。”

另外获悉，遇害女学生杨新的葬礼将在中国举行。弗吉尼亚理工大学表示，会征求死者家属意见，看是否有需要在美国办追悼会。中国大使馆工作人员已赶到布莱克斯堡，就此事与大学相关人员碰面协商。

【最新进展】在12月21日举行的听证会上，被控一级谋杀罪名的前弗吉尼亚理工学院中国籍学生朱海洋21日认罪，弗吉尼亚州蒙哥马利郡巡回法庭接受了朱海洋的认罪。

2010年4月19日，朱海洋被当地法院法官被裁定一级谋杀罪名成立，被判处终身监禁，不得假释。法官在判案时，形容案件是一起冷血及经过精密计算的犯案。26岁的被告朱海洋听取判决前，曾向死者的亲人和当地社区道歉。朱海洋2009年1月21日晚在校园的咖啡室，因求爱不遂，杀死22岁的女同学杨欣。朱海洋在狱中写的信透露，因太爱杨欣，杨的拒绝迫使他要杀人。