Liu Yongbiao

posted: 2 April 2021 | categories: Killer Men, Killer Writers

At one time, Liu Yongbiao was an accomplished and acclaimed Chinese writer. Now he has been sentenced to death.


the man

Little seems to be known about Yongbiao, other than his life as a writer. He wrote several novels, including one historical fiction that was made into a television series that lasted for fifty episodes.


the crime

On 29 November 1995, a quadruple homiside took place at a hostel in Huzhou on the Yangtze Delta, bludgeoned to death during the course of a robbery. The initial victim was a guest at the hostel. In an effort to hide the crime, the elderly owners of the hostel and their young grandson were also murdered.[1]Phillips, Tom. “The Guilty Secret: Chinese Crime Writer Arrested for Four Cold-Case Murders.” The Guardian, 16 Aug. 2017, The Guardian, … Continue reading All that was stolen was a ring, a watch, and 10 yuan, approximately $1.50 USD.[2]Zhao, Christina. “Crime Author Who Killed People and Used Own Murders to Write Novels Sentenced to Death.” Newsweek, 31 July 2018, Newsweek, … Continue reading

It took almost twenty-two years for the case to be solved. For a long time, investigators could find no evidence that connected the victims to potential killers. The hostel had no surveillance cameras, nor did the staff keep any kind of personal information on their guests.[3]“Killer Author Who Murdered Four People 23 Years Ago Then Wrote Acclaimed Novels ‘Inspired by the Case’ Is Sentenced to Death in China.” Daily Mail, 30 July 2018, Daily Mail, … Continue reading The lack of advanced forensic technology also made finding leads next to impossible. The only lead they had at the time was that the two unidentified men spoke with thick Anhui accents.[4]France-Presse, Agence. “Chinese Crime Writer Arrested for Murders 22 Years Ago.” The Nation Thailand, 19 Aug. 2017, The Nation Thailand, … Continue reading

But advances in DNA technology allowed investigators to finally identify Liu Youngbiao ad his accomplice, Wang Mouming.[5]Zhao, Christina. “Crime Author Who Killed People and Used Own Murders to Write Novels Sentenced to Death.” Newsweek, 31 July 2018, Newsweek, … Continue reading DNA was extracted from a cigarette butt found at the scene and matched to a clan with the Liu surname.[6]“Killer Author Who Murdered Four People 23 Years Ago Then Wrote Acclaimed Novels ‘Inspired by the Case’ Is Sentenced to Death in China.” Daily Mail, 30 July 2018, Daily Mail, … Continue reading In addition, investigators combed through roughly 60K fingerprint files across fifteen provinces until they found a match. Liu Yongbiao was arrested 11 August 2017. Later that same day, Wang Mouming was arrested, thanks to information provided by his accomplice.[7]Shi, Xiaofeng. “Writer Held in 4 Killings from 1995.” China Daily, 15 Aug. 2017, China Daily, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2017-08/15/content_30623966.htm.


the punishment

On 30 July 2018, the two men were sentenced to death for the four murders.


writing what you know

In several interviews, Liu Yongbiao admitted that the killings had inspired much of his “fictional ” work. However, he denied that he based any of his characters on the real victims.[8]Zhao, Christina. “Crime Author Who Killed People and Used Own Murders to Write Novels Sentenced to Death.” Newsweek, 31 July 2018, Newsweek, … Continue reading His novel, The Guilty Secret, was about a writer who has been implicated in string of as-of-yet unsolved murders. In the preface for this book, his second-to-last novel, the author stated that he had a;ready begun writing a follow-up to be titled The Beautiful Writer Who Killed. It was to focus on a female writer who continues to evade apprehension by law enforcement after committing several gruesome murders. The book remains as of yet unpublished.

He had this to say at his arrest…

“I’ve been waiting for you all this time.”

works cited[+]

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