How Jiang Ge’s mother survived the five-day court trial

Although the Jiang Ge case was tried and adjudicated in Japan on December 11, because the case attracted much attention from domestic public opinion in China, many Chinese media also rushed to the scene to report in real time. Let’s talk about how Jiang Ge’s mother survived the five-day trial.

There are 38 auditorium seats for the Jiang Ge case trial, including 6 reporters’ seats, and the remaining seats are determined by drawing lots. Since Japan restored the jury system on May 31, 2009, in this trial, in addition to the three judges, there were also six jurors. These jurors were also decided by random drawing, and they were all ordinary Japanese citizens. Before that, they did not know the specific facts of the case. They could only grasp the events and make judgments through the statements of the prosecutor and defense in court.

However, these six jurors only judge from the perspective of ordinary citizens, so they will not have any decisive impact on the final verdict. The trial of the Jiang Ge case will last for seven days, from December 11th to 15th and 18th, and the verdict will be announced at 3 pm on December 20th, Tokyo time.

Although the media generally expects that the possibility of the defendant Chen Shifeng being sentenced to death is very low, observing the trial process of the Jiang Ge case and describing the whole incident from their respective perspectives, the whole story can be understood. are outlined, which also provides the public with a more objective basis for judgment.

Day 1: The source of the fruit knife becomes the key

The court opened at 10 a.m. on December 11. The trial process on the first day mainly included the prosecution's presentation of evidence and the defendant Chen Shifeng's statement. And the forensic doctor makes an autopsy report, etc. The prosecutor accused Chen Shifeng of intimidation and intentional homicide in the evidence. Because Chen Shifeng had repeatedly forced Liu Xin (Chen's ex-girlfriend and Jiang Ge's roommate) to get back together and threatened to make her underwear photos public, the prosecutor charged Chen Shifeng with intimidation.

As for the crime of intentional homicide, the prosecutor believed that Chen Shifeng prepared a fruit knife before going to Jiang Ge's residence and had a clear plan. According to the prosecutor's evidence, the police found the sheath of a fruit knife in the university laboratory where Chen Shifeng worked, but the knife was not found.

At the same time, on the way to Jiang Ge's house, Chen Shifeng did not take the subway as usual. Instead, he bought a one-way ticket after walking two stops, and also brought a change of clothes with him on the day. Therefore, the prosecutor believed that Chen Shifeng had a strong motive for killing and obvious planning.

Regarding the prosecution’s charges, the defendant and his lawyer only admitted to the crime of intimidation, but did not admit to the crime of intentional homicide. Chen Shifeng's lawyer pointed out that Chen Shifeng went to Jiang Ge's house that day mainly to communicate about love issues, not to kill Jiang Ge or Liu Xin; the reason why Chen Shifeng brought a change of clothes and walked two extra stops that day was because he did not pass the test. Smartphone to find self-service coin laundry.

As for the fruit knife that was evidence of the murder, Chen Shifeng’s lawyer said that it was handed to Jiang Ge by Liu Xin. Chen Shifeng accidentally injured Jiang Ge while fighting for the knife, causing his death. After that, Chen Shifeng continued to I stabbed myself 9 times because I didn’t want to burden my family due to the high cost of treatment.

In addition to the prosecutor and the defendant, Hirotaro Yanase, a professor at the University of Tokyo who served as a forensic examiner, was also questioned in court that day. Nobuze pointed out that Jiang Ge’s fatal injury was a puncture of the left common carotid artery, which caused death due to excessive blood loss. There were 11 to 12 wounds on the neck, but it was not confirmed that the key stab that killed Jiang Ge was the third one. A few knives.

Day 2: Jiang’s mother appeared in court for the first time

During the court hearing on the morning of December 12, Jiang Ge’s mother, Jiang Qiulian’s court appearance statement added some details about the night of the crime.

According to Jiang Qiulian’s statement, she had a WeChat voice call with Jiang Ge*** for approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes on the evening of November 2, 2016, and just 8 minutes after the call ended, Jiang Ge was unfortunately killed. During the voice chat between mother and daughter, Jiang Ge told her mother about Liu Xin's breakup with Chen Shifeng. Jiang Qiulian reminded Jiang Ge, "It is better to offend a gentleman than a villain. You have to be careful of him hitting you." Jiang Ge was reminded at that time. The reply said, "Don't worry, I won't do anything to him. Japan is very safe. If there is a problem, the police will come right away."

In addition to recalling the content of the chat that night, Jiang Qiulian also talked about Jiang Ge’s plans for the future.

Jiang Qiulian said that Jiang Ge did not want to return to China to take the civil service examination after graduation, but hoped to stay in Japan and wait until he had a certain financial strength to open an unprofitable small bar and bring his mother to Japan.

Since there were still disagreements on the origin of the key exhibit, the fruit knife, on the first day of the trial, the prosecutor also asked Jiang Qiulian about this. Jiang Qiulian said that she had never heard of Jiang Ge using a fruit knife to defend herself, nor had she heard her daughter say that Liu Xin used a fruit knife to defend herself. At the same time, Chen Shifeng’s tutor at the university said that he had bought the same fruit knife but had not unpacked it.

In the court hearing that afternoon, based on Liu Xin’s previous confession, the details of her relationship with Chen Shifeng were made clear. At the end of April 2016, Liu Xin and Chen Shifeng met at the graduate school of Daito Bunka University. Because Chen Shifeng's speech in class was very thoughtful, Liu Xin became very fond of him, and the two started living together in June 2016 after dating.

In August of the same year, Liu Xin and Chen Shifeng quarreled in the same room and had to stay at a friend's house for one night because Chen Shifeng kicked him out. Liu Xin once confided in Jiang Ge about what happened with Chen Shifeng, and Jiang Ge advised Liu Xin not to contact Chen Shifeng again. Since then, Chen Shifeng has repeatedly hoped to get back together with Liu Xin, but they were all rejected.

Day 3: Liu Xin appeared in court to testify.

In the court hearing on December 13, Liu Xin, the most important witness in the Jiang Ge case, appeared in court to testify. However, she did not appear directly in court, but was arranged to testify via video link from another room in the Tokyo District Court.

In the morning trial that day, the witness who was supposed to be Chen Shifeng’s side suddenly canceled his testimony for some reason, causing the morning trial to end in just over 20 minutes. Later media reported that the absence of the defense witness was due to receiving threatening phone calls.

As an on-site witness, Liu Xin began to appear in court at 13:15 that afternoon and accepted questioning from the prosecutor, the defense lawyer and the judge. The defendant's lawyer mainly raised questions on the issues of the fruit knife and the door. The defense lawyer believes that there are at least eight knife shops near where Liu Xin and Jiang Ge live, so the fruit knife does not belong to Chen Shifeng. In response, Liu Xin denied handing a fruit knife to Jiang Ge and said that he only had two kitchen knives at home and no fruit knife.

Regarding the issue of closing the door, the defendant’s lawyer also raised questions. According to the recording released by the Japanese police during the court trial on December 12, Liu Xin said when calling the police on the day of the incident: "The door is locked, stop scolding!" In response, Liu Xin responded that what he said at the time was: "Why is the door locked? Stop making trouble!" The police did not record the word "why". The defense lawyer believes that the police recording does not show the word "how", and Liu Xin did not mention the word "how" when he recorded his previous confession. The prosecutor also agreed with the defense lawyer's question.

Day 4: Chen Shifeng claimed that Liu Xin pushed Jiang Ge out

On the fourth day of the trial, the defendant Chen Shifeng accepted the prosecutor, the defense lawyer and the judge in court for the first time Waiting for questioning, and described the situation on the day of the incident.

Chen Shifeng said: On the day of the incident, he was not trying to kill Liu Xin or find Liu Xin, but to find Jiang Ge, hoping to improve his relationship with Liu Xin through communication with Jiang Ge. That night, he specially waited at the spiral staircase between the 2nd and 3rd floors of Jiang Ge's residence. After confirming that Liu Xin had entered the house, he walked over and patted Jiang Ge, who was already halfway into the house. Jiang Ge was very surprised at the time. He yelled "Ah" and immediately covered Jiang Ge's mouth with his hand, signaling her to be quiet.

Liu Xin, who was in the house at this time, heard the noise outside the house and asked, "What's wrong with the third uncle (the third uncle is Jiang Ge's nickname)". Then, Chen Shifeng heard the sound of the door being locked, and Liu Xin said, "Third uncle, take it." At this time, Jiang Singzhong suddenly took out a knife and stabbed himself in the eye. While fighting for the knife with Jiang Ge, Chen Shifeng "accidentally stabbed" Jiang Ge, causing his death.

When being questioned, Chen Shifeng said that he saw something in Liu Xin's bag when she was taking the keys during the day. He did not see it clearly at the time, but later thought it was a knife. At the same time, Chen Shifeng also said during the trial that after Jiang Ge screamed, Liu Xin opened the door and handed the knife to Jiang Ge, and then heard the sound of a chain locking the door from inside.

Day 5: Jiang Mu fainted in court

During the trial on December 15, the defendant Chen Shifeng continued to be questioned by the prosecutor, the defense lawyer and the judge. .

Chen Shifeng stated in court that after his arrest, he wrote to Jiang’s mother four times to apologize, but failed to mail them. At the same time, Chen Shifeng also reflected: "I have committed such a big crime. To be honest, I don't know how to compensate for my life. If I can, I am willing to do my best to compensate." When hearing this sentence, Jiang Qiulian suddenly said emotionally : "Give me back my daughter, pay with your life!" Then Jiang Qiulian covered her chest with her hands and suddenly fainted while leaning back on the chair. The judge declared an emergency adjournment.

After the court reopened, Chen Shifeng confessed in court his whereabouts after the incident.

Chen Shifeng said that after leaving Jiang Ge’s apartment in the early morning of November 3, he buried the fruit knife at a construction site about 50 meters away from Jiang Ge’s residence (Japanese police have not yet found the murder weapon) . After burying the fruit knife, he sat at the scene for 30 seconds, then took out a change of clothes from his bag, put them on and went home. The next day, Chen Shifeng threw the pants and hat he wore when committing the crime into the garbage dump downstairs.

On November 5, he threw the backpack he was carrying when committing the crime into Ueno Park. Chen Shifeng also confessed that he continued the attack for no more than 10 seconds. Jiang Ge's blood spurted out violently. His body was trembling at the time. When he squatted down, his lower body was full of water and he peed all over his pants.

After Chen Shifeng’s confession, Jiang Qiulian entrusted an attorney to read a letter of confession written by herself in court. In the letter, Jiang's mother recalled Jiang Ge's growth experience, how Jiang Ge was his first child, and Jiang Ge's future life plans. The atmosphere at the scene was affected by this letter of love, and many people in the auditorium nodded with emotion or shed tears.

After a five-day trial, the evidence investigation phase surrounding the Jiang Ge case was completed. The court will adjourn on December 16th and 17th. On December 18th, the Jiangge case will continue to be heard in the Tokyo District Court. On the 19th, the judge and jurors will hold a closed-door meeting to discuss, and finally the verdict will be announced on the afternoon of the 20th. . At this point, the Jiang Ge case, which has attracted much public attention, will come to a final conclusion, but the thinking it leaves for the public may not end there.