On March 27, 2025, a horrifying mass murder occurred in Dongyong Village, Lianjiang, Chaozhou, Guangdong, where a man with schizophrenia named Ye Dezhi, driven by delusions of being threatened, used a kitchen knife to kill a family of three, including a baby less than 2 years old.
The day saw pregnant woman Xiao Xiao returning to her parents' home to visit her family a month after childbirth, with her one-year-old son and a newborn. While Ye Dezhi, armed with two kitchen knives, arrived at the family home but found no target to exact his revenge on, he violently attacked those waiting at the entrance, resulting in the deaths of Xiao Xiao's mother, Wei, Xiao Xiao herself, and her eldest son. Her newborn son managed to survive. Ye Dezhi attempted suicide but failed and was apprehended by police.
However, a forensic psychiatric evaluation indicated that Ye Dezhi was suffering from schizophrenia and had limited criminal responsibility at the time of the incident. Despite this, the Intermediate People's Court of Chaozhou and the Higher People's Court of Guangdong both ruled that Ye Dezhi had a clear understanding of the unlawfulness and potential consequences of his actions, used extremely brutal methods, and targeted victims with no capacity for self-defense. They concluded that he would not receive a lighter sentence and was sentenced to death. This verdict challenged the public's belief that 'mental illness exempted from the death penalty.'