Chinese Nanny Who Butchered Her Employers With An Electric Saw Jailed For 20 Years
The couple's child had died while in the nanny's care.
By Sadho Ram — 24 Jan 2016, 01:32 PM
The crime came to light in June 2012 after joggers found a leg, cut off at the ankle, while running through the Vincennes forest on the edge of Paris. Several days later, a guide dog found a human torso in the same area, but the hunt for further remains was fruitless.
French policemen investigates with a police dog at the Vincennes forest in June 2012.
Image via Getty ImagesWhile the French police knew the victims were Asian, they were yet to determine their identities. But before the bodies could even be identified, a Chinese couple – Hui Zhang and her boyfriend Te Lu, both 34 years old – approached police and admitted to the crime.
Hui told police she had been babysitting a two-month-old baby that had asphyxiated in his sleep. They decided to offer the parents money to remain quiet about the death.
But when the parents arrived at the home, a furious row broke out, which ended with Hui killing them with a small axe. Hui claims they acted in self-defence after the parents became enraged and attacked them with a butcher's knife.
themalaysianinsider.com
Te was a co-defendant in the case and pleaded not guilty to the murder, claiming he was knocked unconscious during the altercation, and was acquitted, reports Sky News.
“I was sucked into a whirlwind of nightmares but I am innocent,” Te told the court.
After Hui killed the couple, she dragged their bodies into the bathroom and dismembered them with an electric saw.
The court heard Te woke up in time to assist Hui with disposing of the body parts in rubbish bags and dumping them in the Vincennes forest on the outskirts of Paris.
French policemen investigate Vincennes forest, where parts of the victims' bodies were found.
Image via Getty ImagesAfter killing and disposing the bodies, the couple then fled to China, but returned back fearing the death penalty in their home country
After the murders, Hui and Te closed their bank accounts in France and went to China, but came back to Paris shortly after. According to police, they fretted about facing the death penalty in China.
The baby's body, which Hui claimed she had thrown in rubbish bins along with some of the other remains, was never found, however. Hui allegedly told police the baby had died in his sleep, while the baby's grandfather reportedly informed them the nanny had given the child sleeping tablets.
Now, a Paris court on Friday, 22 January 2016, have handed a 20-year jail term to the 34-year-old nanny. In his closing arguments, Judge Julien Eyraud had told the court: "When I learned of this case I was overcome by the horror of what happened, imagining the smell of blood, this butchery in the bathroom, this violence."
As the trial opened on Tuesday, Hui confessed to the killing, saying: “It’s true, I killed them, and I will regret it for the rest of my life.”
theborneopost.com
This file court sketch made on 19 January 2016 shows a Chinese couple, a nanny and her partner identified as Hui Zhang and her boyfriend Te Lu, both 34, accused of killing and dismembering the parents of a baby that had died in the babysitter's care, during their trial in Paris.
Image via Benoit Peyrucq/AFP