Wang Qiang

Wang Qiang (; 16 January 1975 – 17 November 2005) was a Chinese serial killer, rapist, and robber from Liaoning, and one of the most prolific murderers in Chinese history.

Early life Wang was born in 1975 and grew up in the small village of Kaiyuan, Liaoning. His father was physically and emotionally abusive towards his family, addicted to drinking and gambling, and denied Wang the chance to enter school. Due to the abuse, Wang eventually left home and lived on the streets.

Wang Qiang said that he never experienced family happiness during his childhood. When he was 8 years old, his parents divorced. His 6-year-old brother stayed with his mother, while Wang Qiang stayed with his father. Not long after the divorce, Wang Qiang's father got into a fight with someone due to gambling, seriously injuring another person, and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. The upbringing of Wang Qiang then fell to his grandparents.

In 1990, at the Shenyang Railway Station Square, Wang was surrounded and beaten to near-death by a group of fellow beggars. Days after he was released from the police station, Wang was taken in by an older man who gave him a meal and told him "only by stealing would he get ahead". Wang began pickpocketing, with most of the stolen money going to the man who housed him. In June 1991, Wang stole a wallet and was sent to a labor camp for two years.

After his arrest, Wang cooperated with investigators and led them to the scenes of his crimes. He recalled one instance in Xutai Village on 6 July 2000, when he saw a family of three sleeping and smashed their heads with a pickaxe and raped the dead young girl. Wang claimed to have begun killing in 1992, but this was not verified.