Death Sentence for Schizophrenic Killer Following Prosecution Appeal

A man diagnosed with schizophrenia was sentenced to death for killing his elderly neighbors using modified nail guns, according to a ruling announced today by a court in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The defendant, a 26-year-old villager surnamed He, was convicted of intentional homicide and illegal manufacturing of firearms.

Liang, the victims' daughter-in-law, told Red Star News that the family accepted the verdict and said they would take the judgment to the victims' graves to "comfort them in heaven."

The case dates back to December 4, 2023, when He entered a neighboring home in a village in Laibin, Guangxi, carrying two modified nail guns. He shot and killed a married couple in their sixties. The two families lived next to each other, separated only by a wall between their vegetable plots.

According to the first judgment, He said he committed the killings because he believed the couple had been casting spells against him, which he claimed led to recurring nightmares and insomnia. Testimony from his father and other villagers indicated there had been no prior disputes between the families. Multiple villagers also stated that the victims had not engaged in any such superstitious practices.

On March 28, 2025, the Laibin Intermediate People's Court sentenced He to death with a two-year reprieve, citing his mental condition at the time of the crime and his voluntary surrender as mitigating factors.

A judicial appraisal by a Beijing-based institution found that He suffered from schizophrenia and had a diminished ability to recognize and control his actions at the time of the offense, qualifying him as having limited criminal responsibility.

The Laibin People's Procuratorate later filed a protest with a higher court, arguing that the original sentence was too lenient. Prosecutors said that limited criminal responsibility and voluntary surrender are factors that may justify leniency, but do not automatically warrant a lighter sentence. They maintained that the killings were extremely serious, had a severe social impact, and that the defendant showed a poor attitude toward admitting guilt and remorse. Although He's family provided partial compensation, they did not obtain forgiveness from the victims' close relatives.

Following a second hearing on September 23, the court accepted the prosecution's arguments and revised the sentence today, ordering the death penalty without reprieve.