Zhou WEN

AKA "The Taxi Demon"

Classification: Serial killer
Characteristics: Taxi driver - Claimed he had an intense hatred of women, which began when his wife had an abortion without his permission
Number of victims: 6
Date of murders: June-July 2003
Date of arrest: November 28, 2003
Date of birth: 1965
Victims profile: Young women who called the taxi alone at midnight
Method of murder: Strangulation
Location: Anshan. Liaoning Province, China
Status: Unknown. Probably executed

On November 28, 2003, Chinese Police in the Liaoning Province city of Anshan announced the arrest of 38 year old Zhou Wen. The serial killer known as the Taxi Demon had been responsible for the deaths of 6 local women through June of July of 2003. The 6 women, reportedly all single, had taken late night rides in Zhou Wen’s taxi before being murdered and dumped on wasteland surrounding the city.

After his arrest Zhou Wen confessed to the murders claiming he had an intense hatred of women, which began when his wife had an abortion without his permission. He gave police his diary he had been writing during his killing spree which detailed the location of all his victims. Zhou Wen was asked why he kept a diary, his answer was that he assumed he would be caught and wanted to help police to find all the bodies.

"Taxi Devil" confesses to killing 6

December 3, 2003

Chinese police has arrested a taxi driver for killing several of his female passengers in the latest in a string of serial killer arrests.

Local media has dubbed 38-year-old Zhou Wen the "taxi devil" after he confessed to killing six female passengers in the city of Anshan in north-east China.

The ex-convict allegedly killed his first victim in July of this year.

The man is quoted as saying his hatred of women began when his wife had an abortion without his consent.

Local police allege Zhou kept a diary, logging the exact dates and places of his murders.

'Taxi Demon' caught in China

Smh.com.au

December 3, 2003

A Chinese man known as the "Taxi Demon" has been arrested over the strangulation murders of six young women.

Zhou Wen, a 38-year-old taxi driver in Anshan city in north-eastern Liaoning province, was arrested on Friday while he was sleeping at his home, local police said.

According to the Beijing Legal Times, Zhou confessed to the murders, saying he hated women.

He used a rope to strangle six women who rode in his taxi after dark in June and July, the paper said.

Their bodies were dumped in wasteland outside town or down roadside wells.

After confessing, he said he had kept a diary noting where the bodies were, allowing police to locate the corpses.

Asked why he kept a diary, he replied: "I thought one day I would be arrested so I wrote a diary in case I couldn't remember where I had put them."

Local police confirmed the case.

"Six single women have been killed since June and they are all linked to Zhou," said an officer, named Song, from Lishan district police station, near where Zhou lived.

Following his arrest, jubilant local residents took to the streets celebrating, letting off firecrackers and cheering, the paper said.

The murder spree was the latest grisly crime to come to light in China in recent weeks.

An introverted drifter last month confessed to 65 killings in central China. He murdered his victims in their sleep with axes and shovels and then often raped the women.

In another case, a man strangled 17 children.

In several of the mass murders, police neglect and lack of co-ordination between departments in different jurisdictions were partly to blame for slow and bungled investigations.

Taxi driver detained for serial killings

Xinhua

December 3, 2003

A taxi driver has been detained by local police on suspicion of killing six women passengers since July, a police source said Tuesday.

Zhou Wen, 38, a taxi driver in Anshan city of Liaoning province, northwest China, was caught on Nov. 28 while sleeping at home. According to his confession, since July, Zhou had slain six young women who called the taxi alone at midnight.

All of them were strangled or choked to death and left in the wildness or in wells within the reach of neighborhood communities. "I thought they were prostitutes and must die," Zhou said. According to Anshan Public Security Bureau, Zhou kept a diary of his murders, which could help the police locate and identify each body.

"I jotted down the dates and places in case I couldn't remember them when I was caught," he said. "But I haven't thought about being caught." The police found evidence at his home, including a silver fish that was confirmed to belong to a girl he killed.

"He is a devil homicide," said residents in Shengousi when a highly rotted body with long hair was found in the well there at around 10 a.m. on Nov. 28. Zhou had been sent to prison twice, in 1981 for rape and in 1988 for rape and robbery. "I began to hate women when my ex-wife aborted without my permission and I killed a woman who wanted to take revenge on her husband by having an affair with me," said the suspect.

"My desire for revenge was getting stronger since then." But he also regrets leaving his daughter and felt guilty when he learned some of the dead were not prostitutes but hotel maids. "But it's too late," he said. Many Anshan residents celebrated with fireworks when Zhou was captured. Several hundred taxis drivers took to the streets with national flags and logos.

"Our business has been affected by the rascal for months because no one dared to take a taxi at night. We are happy to see him caught," said a taxi driver named Zhang Li. Zhou has confessed his crimes and the case is under further investigation. The court would make the verdict soon, said the police.