Zhou Wen (serial killer)

Zhou Wen (Chinese: 周文; 1965 – 13 January 2004), known as the Anshan Taxi Devil (Chinese: 鞍山出租车恶魔), was a Chinese serial killer who killed six women in 2003, while he worked as a taxi driver in the city of Anshan. It is believed his killing spree was motivated by his wife's abortion.^[1]

Upon getting out of jail for an unrelated crime, Zhou got a job as a taxi driver for the commuters in the city of Anshan in central-southeast Liaoning province. In the summer of 2003, while on the job, Zhou starting his killing spree, strangling female passengers with a rope who had willingly gotten into his taxi, before dumping their bodies in enclosed open ground areas or roadside water wells.^[2] Once all the bodies had been located, a moral panic sparked among locals, who resorted to other defaults to avoid the killer, temporarily affecting the transport business.^[1]

On November 28, Zhou was detained at his home by authorities and subsequently confessed after little questioning.^[1] In his confession, he detailed that he hated women following his wife's abortion, which reportedly was without his permission. It was found that Zhou had also written a diary which detailed the murders of all six women.^[2]

Zhou was found guilty of robbery and murder. He was sentenced to death on December 30 and was executed on January 13, 2004.^[3] In an interview conducted the day before his execution, Zhou stated he had "no remorse" for his victims.^[4]

• List of serial killers in China
• List of serial killers by number of victims