In a tragic incident that shocked many last year in late November, a man named Yao from Wuhan reportedly killed his four-year-old daughter, known as Xiaolin, and then falsely claimed it was an accidental drowning. Just five months before the incident, he had bought a children’s accident insurance policy called “Little Rascal” for his daughter for 60 yuan, leading his wife to believe that he committed murder in order to deceive the insurance company.
According to a report from Upstream News in mainland China on April 10th, Yao has been detained on suspicion of intentional homicide, and the police will undergo a psychological evaluation as the investigation into the case is ongoing. As of now, the results of the related judicial assessments have not been released.
Ms. Chen, who is not using her real name, shared that she married Yao in 2020, and their daughter Xiaolin was born in 2021.
On November 28, 2025, Yao took his daughter back to his parents’ home. That night, Ms. Chen contacted Yao via video call while he was out delivering food, with their daughter at her grandparents’ house. The next morning, when she called Yao again, the call was answered by the police handling the case. She was informed that her daughter had drowned, and Yao was a prime suspect.
Months later, Ms. Chen learned about the details of the incident from a lawyer.
On the evening of November 28, Yao secretly took his daughter in a car to the Yangtze River in Hankou, Wuhan, more than 180 kilometers away from their home. Around 1 a.m. on the 29th, Yao forcibly pressed Xiaolin’s head into the river and then threw her in, ignoring her cries for help.
After committing the crime, Yao deliberately called the police and fabricated the story of accidental drowning. When the police retrieved Xiaolin’s body from the riverbank, Yao pretended to perform emergency first aid on her. However, upon further investigation at the scene, multiple suspicious points were discovered, and during interrogation, Yao confessed to the murder.
As for the motive behind the crime, Yao claimed it was due to his daughter’s illness, overwhelming life stress, and marital discord. However, Ms. Chen believes that the real motive was to commit murder in order to defraud the insurance company. Records show that Yao had purchased the “Little Rascal” children’s accident insurance policy for his daughter for 60 yuan five months before the incident occurred.