Ma Jiajue incident
| Ma Jiajue incident | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | 马加爵事件 |
| Location | Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China |
| Date | 13–15 February 2004 |
| Weapon | Hammer |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Perpetrator | Ma Jiajue |
Between 13 and 15 February 2004, four Yunnan University students were fatally bludgeoned in a dormitory residence in Kunming. The perpetrator, Ma Jiajue, was arrested in March 2004 after the murders were discovered. Ma was convicted of four counts of murder in April 2004 and executed in June of the same year.
The case gained significant media attention and was commonly brought up in reports on later university-related killings. Academic interest focused on the effect on student mental health the killings had at universities around China.
Background
[edit]Victims
[edit]Shao Ruijie (邵瑞杰) was from Wuzhou, Guangxi Region. Shao was the roommate of Ma Jiajue, sharing room 317, located in Building 6 of Dingxin Apartments, at Yunnan University's northern campus.[1]
Tang Xueli (唐学李) was from Nujiang Prefecture, Yunnan Province. Tang was an off-campus resident and friend of Shao. He moved into room 317 during the 2004 winter semester.[1]
Yang Kaihong (杨开红) was from Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province. Yang was a fellow Building 6 resident and friend of Ma.[1]
Gong Bo (龚博) was from Mian County, Shaanxi Province. He was a resident of a neighbouring dormitory building and shared friend of Ma and Shao.[1]
All four were biochemistry students who attended the same class as Ma. The five were considered good friends and spent most of their free time together.[1]
Motive
[edit]In his confession, Ma claimed that several days before the murders, he, Shao Ruijie, and several other classmates had played a game of cards. Ma stated that Shao had accused him of cheating, calling him a "bad person" and remarking "No wonder Gong Bo didn't invite you to his birthday party". Ma considered Shao his best friend and immediately plotted his murder. Ma also decided to kill Gong Bo based on Shao's comment, as well as Tang Xueli, seeing the third roommate as a potential obstacle.[2] Ma also said that the later victims had bullied him regarding his plans for the Chinese New Year holiday, as his work kept Ma from having much leisure.[3][4]
In an episode of Behind the Headlines with Wen Tao, aired on the night of 1 October 2013, criminal psychologist Li Meijin said that Shao had revealed Ma's secret habit of soliciting sex workers and that this was the actual reason behind the murders.[5][6]
Murders
[edit]Preparation
[edit]Ma used the internet to search for murder methods that caused little bleeding. He also looked up geographic information for several Chinese provinces and accessed the official Ministry of Public Security website. Ma concluded that the best murder weapon would be a hammer and purchased a stonemason's hammer at a flea market, asking the vendor to shorten the handle for easier use. He planted the hammer in a public bathroom within his dorm building, but after finding that someone had taken the tool from its hiding place, Ma got a second one with the same specifications. Ma also bought black plastic bags and tape to hide the bodies and obtained a fake identity card to aid in his escape.[2][7]
Killings
[edit]On the evening of 13 February, Ma was alone in room 317 with Tang Xueli. Ma snuck up on Tang and fatally bludgeoned him in the head. Ma wrapped Tang's body in a plastic bag, sealed it with tape, and placed it in the room's closet. On 14 February, Shao Ruijie returned and while he was washing up, Ma killed Shao in the same manner, putting his body in the closet with Tang's.[1] The same day, Ma met with Lin Feng, a fellow student from Guangxi, and had lunch with him. According to his own account, Ma did not kill Lin since he was treated nicely.[8][9]
At noon on 15 February, Yang Kaihong entered room 317 to play cards with Ma, inadvertently discovering him moving the body bags. Ma killed Yang fearing that he would have called police. Ma then went to two banks, withdrawing 350 yuan and 100 yuan at each location.[2][10] The same night, Ma went to the dormitory building of Gong Bo and under the false pretext of inviting him to a card game with the others, Gong was lured to room 317, where Ma killed him.[1][11][12][13] A considerable amount of Ma's blood was later found in the room by police, indicating that he had been injured in a struggle with either Yang or Gong.[14]
After wrapping up all four bodies, covering them in newspaper, and locking them in the closet, Ma went to Kunming railway station, where he boarded a train to Guangzhou in neighbouring Guangdong Province. Police found Ma's forged ID at Kunming station.[10]
On 23 February, two students who had returned after the holidays moved into room 317. Noticing an unpleasant smell, the students started cleaning the room, eventually discovering a trail of liquid oozing from under the closet door. They immediately alerted campus security, who pried open the wardrobe and found the decomposing bodies. The university then called Kunming Public Security Bureau. They quickly identified the bodies and found the murder weapon in the same closet. The absence of Ma Jiajue had been noticed along with that of Tang, Shao, Yang and Gong, with Ma becoming the main suspect after a bloody fingerprint on the hammer was matched to him.[14][15]
Manhunt
[edit]Via Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, and Haikou, Ma arrived in Sanya, Hainan Province, 900 kilometres (560 mi) of the crime scene, on the evening of 18 February. He integrated into a group of homeless waste collectors and slept on the street. He carried a cassette player and three foreign language cassettes along with him, using the device to record his motive. Although he had a total of 2,400 yuan on him, Ma did not spend it after becoming aware of the police search and instead ate food discarded in the trash.[16][14][17]
The Ministry of Public Security offered a 200,000 yuan (US$24,000) reward for information that would result in his apprehension. On 15 March, taxi driver Chen Xianzhuang reported a sighting of Ma at a farmer's market. Ma was captured at the nearby Sanya River after 21 days as a fugitive.[3][18][4] In addition to the 200,000 yuan reward, Chen received a 250,000 yuan bonus by the Sanya Municipal Administration.[14][17]
Perpetrator
[edit]Ma Jiajue (simplified Chinese: 马加爵; traditional Chinese: 馬加爵; pinyin: Mǎ Jiājué; 4 May 1981 – 17 June 2004) was born in Maer, a rural village in Binyang County, Nanning, Guangxi. He had an older brother and two sisters. He attended Binzhou Middle School for junior high school, achieving good grades and winning second place in a physics competition. At Binyang Middle School for high school, his academic effort diminished and he was reported as withdrawn.[11]
In November 1999 he ran away from home out of fear that he would not be able to pass the gaokao college entrance exam. He was discovered by police in Guigang in eastern Guangxi after his school reported his disappearance, and received a disciplinary punishment upon his return. After passing his gaokao, Ma, the pride of his family, was given his family's meager savings; he enrolled in Yunnan University in September 2000, as a biochemistry student.[11]
Legal proceedings and execution
[edit]The Intermediate People's Court of Kunming sentenced Ma Jiajue to death on 24 April.[18] The Yunnan Provincial Higher People's Court did an automatic review of the verdict, and upheld it. On 17 June 2004, Ma Jiajue was executed.[3]
Legacy
[edit]In 2004, Xinhua stated: "The murder case has attracted nationwide attention, with experts and ordinary people heatedly discussing how a college student could choose to kill his young schoolmates."[3]
See also
[edit]- 2022 University of Idaho killings, killing of four university roommates
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g "解析马加爵：一个大学生"屠夫"的成长". Archived from the original on 23 December 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
- ^ a b c "马加爵杀人过程大揭秘". Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
- ^ a b c d "University quadruple killer executed" (Archive). Xinhua at the China Daily. June 17, 2004. Retrieved on June 17, 2014.
- ^ a b "Student slays rich friends". News24. 17 June 2004.
- ^ "锵锵三人行 把马加爵"剥"得太干净会伤其家人". Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
- ^ "锵锵三人行 李玫瑾谈反社会人格与"天生犯罪人"". Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
- ^ "马加爵出逃时携带凶器 查询过江西湖南广州". Archived from the original on 6 April 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
- ^ "从"一饭之恩"看马加爵杀人与放人". Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
- ^ 东方网-新闻晨报 (18 March 2004). "马加爵在三亚承认：当时还想杀第五个". Archived from the original on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
- ^ a b "马加爵出逃时携带凶器曾查询过多个地方信息". Archived from the original on 1 April 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
- ^ a b c Zhi, Zhi and Huang Yiming. Student killer an introvert who finally cracks" (Archive). China Daily. March 17, 2004. Retrieved on June 17, 2014.
- ^ Zhi Zhi and Huang Yiming (17 March 2004). "Student killer an introvert who finally cracks". China Daily.
- ^ Zhang Qian (7 May 2013). "Murders on campus prompt soul-searching in China.", Shanghai Daily.
- ^ a b c d "公安部A级通缉犯马加爵落网". 法治在线. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018.
- ^ "关于本案的专题". 网易. Archived from the original on 2 April 2004.
- ^ "马加爵杀人只因小矛盾 录音带录下作案动机". Archived from the original on 26 January 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
- ^ a b "琼警方谈马加爵落网详情 举报人领奖后护送离场". China News. 16 March 2004.
- ^ a b "Alleged Collegiate Killer Sentenced to Death". China Daily. 24 April 2004.