Lin Yuru (criminal)
Lin Yuru (born 1982) is a Taiwanese serial killer responsible for the Nantou Serial Murders between 2008 and 2009. As part of an insurance scam to get rid of her gambling debts, Lin poisoned her mother, mother-in-law and husband in Puli. On June 14, 2013, the Supreme Court sentenced her to death, making Yuru the fourth female death row prisoner in the country.[1] She is currently detained in the Taichung Women's Prison, awaiting execution. Due to the cruelty of her crimes, which shocked the Taiwanese population, she was nicknamed The Nantou Poisoning Wife and The Puli Poisoning Wife.
Lin Yuru | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1982 (age 38–39) |
| Other names | "The Nantou Poisoning Wife" "The Puli Poisoning Wife" |
| Conviction(s) | Murder x3 |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | 3 |
Span of crimes | 2008–2009 |
| Country | Taiwan |
| State(s) | Nantou |
Date apprehended | 2009 |
| Imprisoned at | Taichung Women's Prison |
Case history
Originally from Tainan, Yuru worked at a former vocational school-turned-cabaret club. Because of her beautiful appearance, she generated a great income, but became addicted to gambling at Mark Six lotteries, struggling to make ends meet. Soon after, she fell in love with a drunkard named Liu Yuhang, a national badminton player, to whom she married. The family operated a small, but honest stinky tofu stand in Puli. However, when Lin got pregnant, Liu decided against his own's family pleas and married another woman. However, despite her divorce, Yuru continued to bet at Mark Six, continuing to accumulate large gambling debts, to the point where she borrowed money from underground banks amassing $20 million NT. Since she couldn't pay off her debts, she devised a plan to defraud insurance money through murder.
On August 16, 2008, under the threat of suspending the operations of the stinky tofu stand because of her unstable income, Lin burned the establishment down during the night by dousing it with kerosene and lighting it up.
On November 10, while visiting her family in Tainan, Yuru pushed her mother Hou Yueyun down the stairs. Yueyun suffered a serious head injury and perished, with Lin receiving $5 million NT in insurance claims.
In May 2009, Lin searched on the internet for a way to poison her mother-in-law, Zheng Huishen. She first administered it into Zheng's food, after which the woman was driven to the hospital. There, Yuru tampered with the IV drip by mixing it with antidepressants, ethanol and methanol. The deadly concoction successfully poisoned her victim.
Between June and July, Lin tried to kill her ex-husband in the same way. She first poisoned his food, because of which Liu was admitted to the hospital. However, when she tried to put the poison in the IV drip, she was discovered by a nurse. After the nurse stopped her, she inquired Yuru as to her reasoning. Lin argued that she had just felt that the drip wasn't smooth enough and wanted to pass the bottle. However, the nurses were alert and took special care of Yuhang, discarding the poisoned "drip bottle". Although Liu survived the first time, he was re-admitted soon after because of suspected acute gastroenteritis. Yuru deliberately chose a single ward this time to prevent interference from the nurses, and successfully managed to kill her ex-husband.
The insurance company's claimants noted that Yuru's relatives all died in a strangely consecutive manner, so they reported their suspicions to the police. The investigators discovered that Lin had also insured her aunt and son, whom she likely had intended to kill as well. In addition, the poisoned drip bottle retained by the nurses was regarded as additional proof for the crimes.
At her trial, Yuru's lawyer argued that, compared to the average 106 IQ in Taiwan, Lin's one of 57, coupled with her depression, should be considered an intellectual disability and thus, prevent the issue of the death penalty. But the presiding judge rebuked this, pointing out that she had a vocational education, had signed a long-term bet with the lottery, had set up a plan and carried out the killings of her relatives in a calculated manner. Because of this, the death sentence was retained.
Prosecution and trial
- In April 2010, Lin Yuru was handed three death sentences by the Nantou District Procuratore.[2]
- On May 20, 2011, the Nantou District Court approved of the death sentences in a combined trial, but in February 2012, when an appeal was filed to the second instance, the Taichung High Court commuted the sentence to life imprisonment.[3]
- Upon a retrial, the sentence was reverted to the death penalty, and was ultimately confirmed by the Supreme Court on June 14, 2013.