1. The murder shocked the whole country
On March 2, 2014, a horrific burglary and homicide occurred in the Yongkang Garden Community in Dawukou District, Shizuishan City, Ningxia. A middle-aged couple was brutally murdered in their home, and the killers stole their Audi cars, gold and silver jewelry, bank cards and cash. This case shocked the whole country and attracted great attention from the public security department.
The public security department quickly set up a special case team and mobilized a large number of police and technical forces to fully investigate this case. However, the detection of the case has encountered unprecedented difficulties. The murderer's modus operandi was sophisticated, and there were very few clues left at the scene. The killers also meticulously cleaned the scene, washing the body and blood stains with water and destroying important physical evidence. What is even more unexpected is that after being captured, the murderer refused to say anything about the case. He is like an iron wall, no matter how the police interrogate him or present evidence, he is silent or flatly denies. Such a situation is very rare in the history of criminal procedure on the mainland.
This is the robbery and murder case of Zhao Qinshan, known as "zero confession". It was a battle for the death penalty without a confession. It is a contest that tests law and justice.
Second, fight for 72 hours to lock down the real murderer
The task force has not given up its efforts to find clues. They started at the scene of the crime and gradually expanded the scope of investigation. They retrieved surveillance footage from the surrounding area and analyzed the route of the murderer who fled in the stolen vehicle. They followed the murderer's movements on buses and taxis after abandoning his vehicle in Wuhai, Inner Mongolia. They looked up records of the killer withdrawing money at multiple banks and buying gold and silver jewelry at multiple malls. They invited passengers, salesmen and others who had contact with the murderer to identify.
After 72 hours of fighting, the task force finally locked up the suspect - Zhao Qinshan. Zhao Qinshan, a native of Suixi County, Huaibei City, Anhui Province, was born in 1974 and was sentenced to 14 years in prison on suspicion of kidnapping and served in Yudong Prison in Shangqiu, Henan Province. He was released from prison shortly after January 2014.
In the early morning of March 5, Zhao Qinshan, who was preparing to go out to withdraw money again, was arrested in the Guozicheng Community in Jinfeng District, Yinchuan City, and seized the receipts he was carrying to shop at three jewelry stores in Wuhai on the spot. These facts are enough to determine that Zhao Qinshan is the murderer of the "3.02 robbery and murder case".
Third, silent confrontation, evidence chain
However, Zhao Qinshan did not give in to being captured. During the interrogation, he refused to explain his criminal process, and even did not know anything, sometimes simply lowering his head and remaining silent. His attitude was very stubborn, which made the task force feel very tricky.
The special case team decided to immediately carry out further evidence collation work, and let Zhao Qinshan confess his guilt in front of "iron evidence". They collected the surveillance video of Zhao Qinshan driving the robbed vehicle along the way after the crime, and collected the video of him taking buses and taxis after throwing the car. They collected surveillance footage of Zhao Qinshan's withdrawals from banks in Ningxia and Inner Mongolia and shopping in shopping malls, and obtained testimony from three passengers in the same car and a shopping mall salesman who had contact with him. They searched Zhao Qinshan's residence, and during the search, they found wigs, masks, gloves and backpacks that Zhao Qinshan had used during the crime. They found cash hidden by Zhao Qinshan, gold and silver jewelry and bank cards hidden by Zhao Qinshan, and also found fake identity cards used by Zhao Qinshan. They checked Zhao Qinshan's mobile phone through technical means and found that he had repeatedly viewed the robbery case and the method of driving an Audi car before the crime, and found through the positioning system that the suspect had repeatedly stepped near the victim's home.
All this evidence points to the conclusion that Zhao Qinshan is a premeditated, prepared, and experienced repeat offender. He had already made a detailed plan before committing the crime, including the selection of targets, disguised identity, crime tools, escape routes, and so on. He also took various measures after the crime, trying to destroy evidence, transfer stolen goods, disguise his identity, and evade pursuit. After being captured, he refused to admit his guilt and tried to fight the trial with silence and evade justice.
However, the task force will not let his fantasies come true. They used a large amount of evidence to form a complete chain of evidence and sent Zhao Qinshan to court for trial.
It was a battle for the death penalty without a confession. It is a contest that tests law and justice. In the end, the law is ruthless and righteous. Zhao Qinshan exchanged silence for the death penalty. He could not escape justice.