*Woman Brutally Murdered by Ex-Husband in Front of Their Children*
Last year in Linyi, Shandong Province, a 34-year-old woman was brutally murdered by her ex-husband who had been divorced for three years in front of their two sons at their home. The case was brought to trial on January 23 at the Linyi Detention Center in Shandong Province, awaiting a verdict.
According to reports from Shangguan News and Qianjiang Evening News, the victim, Ms. Lai, married Peng Mouxin in 2013 and they had a son in 2014. Peng Mouxin accumulated a large amount of debt due to gambling issues. In an effort to repay the debts, Ms. Lai traded their 130-plus-square-meter house for a smaller 90-plus-square-meter house nearby. However, not long after, Peng Mouxin fell back into debt, owing millions. In 2022, Ms. Lai filed for divorce and was granted custody of their son.
After the divorce, Peng Mouxin failed to pay child support as ordered by the court. During the day, Ms. Lai worked as a cashier in a supermarket, and at night, she worked in a clothing store to repay her ex-husband’s debts and raise their son on her own.
In April 2025, Ms. Lai met and got engaged to a local man, and they planned to marry in July of the same year. Upon learning of this, Peng Mouxin began harassing and threatening Ms. Lai repeatedly.
According to Ms. Lai’s brother, in the evening of August 10, 2025, Peng Mouxin lured their son to open the door under the pretense of visiting him, then took the child downstairs to buy snacks. Upon returning home, Peng Mouxin asked Ms. Lai if they could reconcile. When she refused, Peng Mouxin took out a knife from the kitchen and pushed her into the bedroom to start stabbing her.
Surveillance footage from the house showed Ms. Lai pleading with the assailant, while their child tried to seek help outside to no avail, and then returned home to repeatedly bang on the bedroom door. After being stabbed, Ms. Lai crawled to the bathroom door, struggling for 20 minutes. During this time, Peng Mouxin did not attempt to provide any first aid.
After the attack, Peng Mouxin sat on the living room couch smoking a cigarette before eventually surrendering to the police.
Following a forensic examination, it was determined that Ms. Lai had been stabbed 28 times, including 5 fatal wounds and multiple penetrating wounds. The cause of death was a single-bladed stabbing to the chest and abdomen, resulting in a ruptured heart.
Ms. Lai’s brother expressed that their 11-year-old child became silent and withdrawn after witnessing the murder, suffering from symptoms of depression, insomnia, and nightmares. The child repeatedly questioned his uncle: “If I hadn’t opened the door, would Mom still be alive?”
He stated, “We do not seek any compensation and reject any mediation. We only seek for Peng Mouxin to be sentenced to death and for the execution to be carried out immediately in accordance with the law.”