An introverted drifter has confessed to 65 killings in central China, where he murdered his victims in their sleep with axes and shovels and then often raped the women, state press reports revealed yesterday.
Yang Xinhai told police he carried out the killings over the last two years in 22 incidents where he entered homes in rural areas of the neighboring provinces of Henan, Anhui, Shandong and Hebei, often slaughtering entire families, the Beijing News reported.
Yang is also being accused of raping 23 of his victims.
Of the 22 cases, 17 occurred in Henan province, with many taking place in the poor area of Zhumadian where Yang was born and raised in impoverished conditions 35 years ago, the paper said.
According to police and local villagers, Yang bicycled between the murders where in certain cases he would spend several days and nights watching villagers, apparently to see which houses could be entered easily.
In one case, an axe used as the murder weapon was stolen from another villager's home days before the killing.
Police have listed robbery and rape as leading motives in the case, but Yang also appears to be a deranged killer who enjoyed what he was doing.
Police in Hebei province's Cang-zhou city arrested him on Nov. 3 while on a routine inspection of entertainment venues, and later found he was wanted in four provinces for a total of 65 killings.
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