An East German couple have been given jail terms for the brutal murder and rape of Chinese architecture student Li Yangjie.
A court in the city of Dessau found Mr. Sebastian F. and Miss. Xenia I., 21 years, guilty of a brutal murder that led to the death of the visiting Chinese scholar and were sentenced to 15 years, for Sebastian and a juvenile sentence of five years and six months to his fiancée Xenia, mother of three.
It is said that the couple sat “impassively” as their verdict was read out in court. In addition to jail time punishment to their horrific crimes, the pair has been ordered to pay compensation to the family of the victim, totaling ¥469, 685.
There has been further controversy over the case as it has been revealed that the murderer’s mother and father are both police officers. Sebastian is also accused of one other rape in 2003 in the same town, which has only been revealed due to this case.
Miss Li had gone out for her usually evening jog around her neighborhood. After she got close to an empty set of flats she was approached by Xenia whom lured her into one of the empty flats under false pretenses. Sebastian later subjected li to hours of brutal beating and rape; Xenia claims to have only watched. Rudolf Lückmann, Professor at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, later described, “Her mouth, along with the face, is brutally smashed off. Her disfigured body is covered with wounds from a hard struggle for survival,” reported Lisa Garn for the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung.
Directly after the verdict, all parties including the parents of the victim announced to appeal the verdict.
