Death of Diao Aiqing

On 19 January 1996, sanitation workers and residents discovered mutilated human remains at multiple locations in and around the Gulou campus of Nanjing University in Jiangsu, China. The remains were later identified as belonging to Diao Aiqing, a 19-year-old student who had disappeared nine days earlier. Diao had been dismembered into more than 2,000 pieces, most cut into rectangular slices, with her head and internal organs reportedly boiled for an extended period. Key organs, including the heart, liver, and spleen, were never recovered.

Diao was born in March 1976 in Shengao, Jiangyan District, Taizhou, Jiangsu, and was the younger of two siblings. She enrolled at Nanjing University's School of Adult Education in October 1995 after passing the gaokao on her second attempt, and majored in computer applications in the Department of Information Management. She was described by those who knew her as introverted and reserved.

On the evening of 10 January 1996, following a dispute over a fine related to her roommate's unauthorized use of an electrical appliance, Diao left her dormitory in the Gulou campus and did not return. She was last seen wearing a red coat with a black lining. Authorities did not notify her family of her disappearance until after her remains were found.

The discovery began when a sanitation worker sweeping Huaqiao Road, south of the campus, found a bag containing what appeared to be pre-cut meat and initially mistook it for pork before finding human fingers among it. Following this report, plastic-wrapped human remains were located at eight sites across central Nanjing, including a construction site and lane southwest of the campus, a bridge to the southeast, the university's main gate and a nearby stadium, and areas north of the university where Diao's head and clothing were later found between 20 and 30 January 1996.

Forensic investigators were only able to determine the victim was female through analysis of body hair and muscle tissue; relatives ultimately identified Diao through a mole on her right cheek. A senior officer involved in the case described the killing as "really cruel," noting that the precision of the dissection suggested the perpetrator had significant anatomical knowledge, possibly indicating a professional butcher or surgeon. Investigators developed suspect profiles, including that of a single, physically fit, middle-aged man, but were unable to identify any matching individual within the university. A three-month investigation into students, faculty, and surrounding areas produced no significant leads.

As of 2016, on the 20th anniversary of the case, China's Ministry of Public Security Criminal Investigation Department stated the case remained "under investigation," with jurisdiction resting with the Nanjing Municipal Public Security Bureau. In 2021, Diao's family filed a lawsuit against Nanjing University seeking ¥1.62 million (approximately US$246,000) in damages, which Diao's sister described as an effort to "seek justice" rather than obtain compensation. The case has drawn renewed public attention amid the use of DNA evidence in solving other historic cases, and has been compared to the American Black Dahlia case due to similarities in circumstance.