A 28-year-old Chinese woman, Lu Yuanyuan (transliterated), was allegedly shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend Ren Yujun (transliterated) in Pennsylvania, USA, on the 8th local time. Ren Yujun has already surrendered to the police.
According to Red Star News, local police said that Ren Yujun turned himself in accompanied by his lawyer at around 12:30 pm on the 8th. He was arrested on suspicion of murder. The local prosecutor's office announced that 32-year-old Ren Yujun will be charged with criminal homicide, possession of an instrument of crime, and stalking. Ren Yujun appeared in court later that night and was denied bail.
Police revealed that after surrendering at noon on the 8th, Ren Yujun then led officers to a residence, where they found a woman with a gunshot wound to the head sitting in the driver's seat of a car. Police confirmed that the woman was Lu Yuanyuan, who was already deceased when found.
● Allegations of Sexual Assault by Ex-boyfriend
The prosecutor stated that their investigation uncovered a series of "chilling acts." According to police documents, just hours before her death—on the night of the 7th—Lu Yuanyuan went to the police station and reported that she was very afraid of Ren Yujun, as he always carried a firearm. She also mentioned being stalked and harassed, and on the day she reported it, she said she was sexually assaulted by him, prompting her to end the relationship. Before the incident, she had packed her luggage and planned to leave for good, having also blocked all contact with Ren Yujun.
Police revealed that Ren Yujun began following the victim's car early on the morning of the 8th, later shooting her to death. Evidence shows that at around 5:45 am on the 8th, surveillance cameras captured Lu Yuanyuan driving by with Ren Yujun's vehicle tailing behind. Hours later, Lu Yuanyuan was killed in her car.
According to court documents, Ren Yujun told police that he was standing outside Lu Yuanyuan’s car door at the time. He claimed that Lu Yuanyuan “said some hurtful things and took away their cats and dogs, so I pulled out a gun from my waist to scare her, but the gun accidentally discharged.”
After Lu Yuanyuan's death, her family started a memorial and fundraising campaign on a foreign crowdfunding website. Her cousin wrote on the site: "Yuanyuan was always in an abusive relationship, living in fear all the time. Only recently did she muster the courage to confide in friends and family and seek help from the police."
In an interview, Lu Yuanyuan's cousin said the two had dated for about a year. Last week, Lu Yuanyuan finally confided that she had been abused in the relationship and, after being encouraged by her cousin, she found the courage to report to the police. "Yuanyuan was an outgoing, kind, and lively person who brought joy to those around her. She rarely showed her pain and didn’t want to burden others, instead enduring everything in silence—until it was too late."
Her cousin added that Lu Yuanyuan came to the U.S. with her father in 2009. Not long ago, her father had just returned to China to visit family, leaving Lu Yuanyuan living alone in the U.S.