Over four years from 1999 – 2003 Yang Xinhai raped 23 women and committed the murders of 67 men, women and children. The “Monster Killer” as he became known by the media would travel between four Chinese provinces killing those he came across in a brutal fashion with hammers, axes and shovels.  On Valentines Day, February 14 2004, Yang was executed by a single gunshot to the back of the head.

China’s most prolific serial killer was born into poverty and believed to be an introvert as a child. He dropped out of school at the age of 17 and left home to become a wandering labourer. Between 1988 and 1999 he was in and out of prison convicted on charges of attempted rape and theft. It was after his 1999 release from prison that he started a relationship with a young woman, when this relationship turned sour in 2000 – his killing sprees started.

Yang would wander between four Chinese provinces. He focussed his murderous attacks on isolated farmers and their families. He would hide and wait until night and enter the families’ homes as they slept. The Monster Killer would grotesquely murder the children and men before rapping and murdering the women. In a notable case in October 2002, Yang killed a six-year-old girl and her father and then raped a pregnant woman who survived a gruesome beating.

Yang was arrested in 2003 after police officers picked him up for acting suspiciously during a routine inspection. Upon being taken to the station it was discovered that warrants were out for his arrest in four Chinese provinces, he was convicted and confessed to the murders of 67 men, women and children. The result was execution when asked what his motives for the murders were Yang was quoted saying, “When I killed people I had a desire. This inspired me to kill more. I don’t care whether they deserve to live or not. It is none of my concern…I have no desire to be part of society. Society is not my concern”