A Chinese couple was executed on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, for a crime that shattered a family and provoked widespread outrage. 

Zhang Bo and his partner, Ye Chengchen, were executed by lethal injection, marking an end to a saga that began with the murder of Zhang’s two young children in Chongqing, a city in southwest China.

The Chongqing High People’s Court found Zhang guilty of throwing his two-year-old daughter and one-year-old son from the 15th floor of a residential tower in 2020. 

Ye was also convicted for her role in the crime, having pressured Zhang into committing the act because she viewed the children as obstacles to their new life together. 

The court’s findings depicted a meticulously planned crime driven by a motive deemed “despicable” and executed in a manner described as “brutal.”

After a thorough legal process, the Chongqing No. 5 Intermediate People’s Court sentenced the couple to death in December 2021, a decision affirmed by the Supreme People’s Court after careful consideration of appeals. 

The Supreme Court’s statement emphasized the reprehensible motives behind the killings, reinforcing the need for a stern response to such unconscionable crimes.

The incident occurred against the backdrop of Zhang’s decision to start a new life with Ye, following his divorce from his wife, Chen Meilin, in February 2020. 

Ye, viewing the children as hindrances to their future together, coerced Zhang into eliminating them. 

Following the murders in November 2020, Zhang displayed signs of distress, evidenced by video footage showing him in a state of apparent remorse and emotional turmoil.

Public reaction to the executions has been mixed, with many expressing satisfaction that justice has been served, as evidenced by the nearly 200 million views and numerous supportive comments on Weibo, a popular Chinese social media platform. 

This public sentiment aligns with a 2020 study indicating significant support for the death penalty among Chinese citizens, though experts caution that online opinions may not fully represent the broader public view.