A former American police officer, after being accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl and murdering his wife, fled to China for 21 years. During that time, he managed to obtain forged documents and became an English teacher at East China Normal University, where he was deeply popular among students. Ultimately, following a tip-off, he was deported 21 years later to face justice back in the United States.
According to NetEase News, this 53-year-old man, Daniel William Hiers, was escorted by Chinese police at Shanghai Pudong International Airport and handed over to U.S. law enforcement officers last Wednesday (the 23rd), boarding a flight to the United States.
Hiers had worked for 11 years as an officer at the North Charleston Police Department in South Carolina. He was professionally trained in martial arts combat and was proficient in the use of various firearms.
In 2004, 32-year-old Hiers was in a relationship with a single mother, but he set his sights on the woman's 10-year-old daughter, subjecting the girl to months-long sexual assault and abuse.
In November of the same year, North Charleston police arrested Hiers and charged him with committing lewd acts on a minor under the age of 16. He was released on bail, pending trial. His court date was set for March 15, 2005.
However, on the day of the trial, Hiers did not show up as scheduled. When officers went to his residence to look for him, they found his 24-year-old wife, Ludy Mila, lying on the bed with a gunshot wound to the head, her blood soaking the bedsheets. Forensic investigators determined that Ludy Mila had been shot in the back of the head while she slept.
The U.S. Department of Justice then issued a wanted notice for Hiers on two felony charges: murder and child sexual assault.
In June 2005, he was added to the U.S. Marshals’ “15 Most Wanted Fugitives” list. In August of the same year, Interpol put out a top-level red notice for him. His case was covered several times by national television programs like “America’s Most Wanted.”
Hiers escaped to Shanghai under a new name, Daniel William, and, using forged identity documents and his foreign appearance, was successfully hired by East China Normal University as an English teacher.
Outside the classroom, he frequently dated Chinese women and led a chaotic private life.
Hiers once relentlessly pursued a student named Ms. Wang. After being rejected, he began to send sexually explicit photos to Ms. Wang's friends, sexually harassing them.
Ms. Wang later emigrated to the United States after graduating from university and settled in Southern California.
One day in 2018, Ms. Wang was browsing the website of the U.S. Marshals Service when she inadvertently came across the “15 Most Wanted Fugitives” list. She was shocked to see that one of the fugitives was the professor who had been so popular at her university. She immediately went public with the news on Weibo, and the story quickly spread across the internet.
In September 2018, Hiers was detained and held by Shanghai police.
Because China and the U.S. do not have a formal extradition treaty, it was not until this year that Hiers was handed over to U.S. authorities. His criminal cases will now proceed through the judicial system.