13-year-old held for murder and necrophilia

Chinese police have arrested a 13-year-old boy who allegedly killed a three-year-old girl and then had sex with her corpse on May 19. An official of the Haizhu district public security bureau in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, said: "We have arrested the boy and are interrogating him to determine the motive of the murder."

The police arrested the accused, whose real name has been withheld as he is a minor, on May 21, the official said. "A postmortem examination on May 21 confirmed that the girl was first killed and then sexually assaulted," he said.

According to the confession of the accused, he saw three-year-old Wang Xiaoyi playing near his apartment building while he was returning home from school on May 19. "He grabbed the girl and took her to his home while his parents were away. The accused tied the girl's hands and feet and forced her head into a basin full of water."



After Wang drowned to death, the 13-year-old allegedly had sex with her corpse before throwing it out of his fifth floor apartment. The accused confessed to the crime, admitting he had no accomplices.

Huang Aihua, a lawyer at the Guangzhou Hebang Law Firm, said the accused will not face criminal charges as he is a minor. "The court cannot punish anyone below the age of 14 with criminal sanctions," he said.

He, however, added that if found guilty, the accused will have to bear "civil liabilities". "The victim's family can request compensation for mental anguish, death and funeral charges."