Trial set for suspected serial killer

Man described crimes in chilling detail, 'never showed any regret', police say

A suspected serial killer charged with multiple counts of homicide, rape, robbery and mutilating corpses will stand trial in Baiyin, Gansu province, on Tuesday.

Baiyin Intermediate People's Court posted a statement on Sina Weibo on Friday saying that it will hear the case of Gao Chengyong in its No 1 courtroom, but it added that the trial will not be open to the public because of privacy considerations. It did not elaborate.

Gao, 52, is accused of killing 11 people in Gansu and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region between May 1988 and February 2002, according to the Ministry of Public Security. The youngest alleged victim was 8 years old.

Gao has been detained since he was arrested on Aug 26 at a grocery store on a vocational school campus in Baiyin. Ten of the killings occurred in Baiyin, according to the authorities.

The case was thrust into the public eye last year when the city's police authorities uncovered evidence, including DNA tests, and named Gao as the suspect. During preliminary interrogations, police said, he confessed to the crimes but said he had no particular motive for what he did.

Details released earlier by the ministry said the victims were young women dressed in red. Gao raped them and killed them by cutting their throats after following them home, it said, adding that he mutilated his victims' bodies.

In June, Wang Humin, deputy director of Baiyin's prosecuting authority, said, "The case has been a top priority for judicial workers for a long time."

Wang said the killings caused panic among residents in the city. The police offered a reward of 200,000 yuan ($29,500) in a bid to capture the suspect.

"We've always attached utmost importance to the case," he said. "After Gao was detained, the authorities selected more than 10 prosecutors to deal with his prosecution." He said relatives of the victims had been contacted to gather information and provide support.

Police officers and prosecutors working on the case said Gao had remained calm and was able to describe details about his alleged crimes, including the time and place of each incident, how he killed the victims and how he fled.

"He never showed any regret or sorrow for the victims or their families when discussing the details," Wang said.

Zhu Aimin, the attorney representing Gao, said his client had mentioned the crimes had nothing to do with his own family and hoped his relatives would not be affected.