Paid off debts and ordered prostitutes: a man pushed his wife into the sea because of insurance payments (4 photos)

The investigation revealed that two weeks after his wife's death, Li was already using sex services, and two months before the murder, he took out four insurance policies for his wife worth 12 million yuan. The key evidence was CCTV footage that showed the woman being deliberately pushed off the ferry.





47-year-old Li from China was sentenced to death for the cold-blooded murder of his wife. He pushed her into the sea from a ferry to collect the insurance money and cover his debts, as well as spend the money on prostitutes.

The case gained public attention after state broadcaster CCTV reported on November 21. The death sentence for intentional murder was handed down by the Liaoning Provincial Higher People's Court in December last year. However, it is not yet known whether it was carried out.



How the tragedy happened

On May 5, 2021, the couple were on a ferry heading from Dalian to Yantai. Suddenly, Li's 46-year-old wife fell overboard. Her body was found after a 45-minute search.

According to the media, Li initially feigned shock, sitting on the ground and claiming that it was an accident. However, the police found several details suspicious. First, the place where the woman fell was in the blind spot of the surveillance cameras, of which there were more than 200 on the ferry. Second, forensic experts found traces of bruises on the face of the deceased.

The husband's questionable behavior

Li insisted on receiving a death certificate as soon as possible, explaining this by local traditions that require cremation within three days. The police invited him to Dalian to complete the paperwork, while simultaneously launching a secret investigation into his life in Shanghai.

It turned out that Li owned a restaurant, but was constantly in debt to employees and suppliers. He remained a bachelor for a long time and only in October 2020 did he marry his employee, a twice-divorced woman with two children. Their marriage lasted only six months, and those around them were unaware of their existence: their restaurant colleagues were unaware that the couple was married, and their neighbors did not notice any romantic relationship between them.





Solving the Crime

Further investigation revealed that Li had purchased four life insurance policies in his wife's name shortly before the murder, listing himself as the sole beneficiary. If her death had been classified as a traffic accident, the payout could have reached 12 million yuan (about $1.6 million).



Police also discovered that two weeks after his wife's death, Lee had been using a prostitute in a hotel room that was under surveillance by investigators.

The key evidence was footage from long-range CCTV cameras on the ferry. Experts determined that the pattern of the victim's fall indicated that she had been pushed, rather than accidentally falling. Enlarging the image revealed a hand in the footage belonging to the man in the black suit Lee was wearing that day.

Sentence

In July 2022, the court found Lee guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced him to death. An appeal did not change the verdict.