There was a new development in the first instance trial of the Lao Rongzhi case, seven days after he was sentenced to death. On the evening of September 16, Nandu reporters learned from Lao Shengqiao, the second brother of Lao Rongzhi, that on September 15, the family entrusted two criminal defenders for the second-instance trial of the case, and the relevant procedures had been sent to the Nanchang Intermediate Court.
The power of attorney obtained by the Nandu reporter shows that Lao Rongzhi's second brother and sister signed and pressed their fingerprints, formally entrusting lawyers Jia Fangyi and Guo Chengxi as criminal defenders in the second-instance trial stage of the case.
Defense lawyer Guo Chengxi told Nandu reporters that from the perspective of legal procedures, the first-instance trial of the case has ended, and at present, the second-instance court, that is, the Jiangxi Provincial High Court, has not yet filed a case, during which the family entrusted two lawyers as the defenders of the second-instance trial on behalf of Rongzhi in accordance with the law, and the lawyer's right to defend and meet was established according to law, and the relevant procedures were sent to the Nanchang Intermediate Court on September 16, when the Nanchang Intermediate Court transferred it to the Jiangxi Provincial High People's Court.
According to Nandu's previous report, between 1996 and 1999, defendant Lao Rongzhi and Fa Ziying (who have been sentenced in a separate case) were lovers. Between 1996 and 1999, the two conspired and divided their labor, and jointly committed 4 robberies, kidnappings and intentional homicides in Nanchang, Hefei and other places. After the incident, Lao Rongzhi absconded under pseudonyms such as "Shirley", and on November 28, 2019, he was arrested by public security personnel.
On September 9, after eight months, the Nanchang Intermediate People's Court held another trial and rendered a first-instance judgment on the case: Lao Rongzhi was convicted of intentional homicide, robbery, and kidnapping, and several crimes were punished together, and decided to carry out the death penalty.
After trial, the court held that the defendant Lao Rongzhi, together with others, had deliberately and illegally deprived the victim of his life, and his conduct had constituted the crime of intentional homicide; his act of robbing the victim's property by violent and threatening means for the purpose of illegal possession had constituted the crime of robbery; and his act of kidnapping the victim for the purpose of extorting property had constituted the crime of kidnapping. Lao Rongzhi plays a major role in the joint crime, is the principal offender, and shall be punished according to all the crimes in which he participated. After Lao Rongzhi was arrested, he truthfully confessed the fact that he had kidnapped in Changzhou, which was a confession. Lao Rongzhi deliberately killed five people; robbery caused the death of one person, the amount of robbery was huge, and there were circumstances of robbery in the house; kidnapping caused the death of one person, extorting a ransom of more than 70,000 yuan, the crime was particularly heinous, the means were particularly cruel, the subjective viciousness was extremely deep, the personal danger and social harm were extremely great, and the consequences and crimes were extremely serious and should be punished according to law. Although there are confessions, it is not enough to give a lenient punishment. If Lao Rongzhi commits several crimes, he shall be punished together in accordance with law. The above-mentioned judgment was rendered.
After the first-instance judgment was pronounced, the defendant Lao Rongzhi appealed in court, and his relatives expressed support for Lao Rongzhi's appeal.
Written by: Nandu reporter Huang Chibo
![Defenders may consult, excerpt, or reproduce case file materials[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)