"Given that conduct, why shouldn't his sentence be reduced?"
At the Judges' Bench.
After hearing Dong Baihao's statement, Xu Rufeng briefly organized the information.
Based on what Dong Baihao had disclosed in court so far.
His actions could be described as sexually assaulting a young child by brutal means and then brutally murdering her.
However...
There were still some questions about his subjective intent that needed clarification.
Having organized his thoughts.
Xu Rufeng continued his questioning. "Defendant Dong Baihao."
"According to your account."
"Dong Guoguo went into town to sell passion fruit and encountered you on her way home that evening."
"By then, Dong Guoguo had sold all her passion fruit, earning fifty-six yuan."
"After killing Dong Guoguo, you took the fifty-six yuan she had earned, correct?"
"Yes."
Dong Baihao nodded, admitting it outright.
"What were you thinking when you took that fifty-six yuan?"
Faced with the presiding judge's question, Dong Baihao hesitated for several seconds.
"My thinking at the time was pretty simple."
"I thought that if someone happened to find Dong Guoguo's body."
"Taking the money could help mislead them, at least possibly allowing me to avoid investigation and keeping this from being traced back to me."
"All right."
After finishing these questions, Xu Rufeng nodded slightly.
At this point in the questioning, the basic outline of the case had been established.
Essentially, Dong Baihao's criminal motive, subjective intent, and the objective facts of the case could now be confirmed.
His offense was a criminal act committed for the purpose of sexual assault.
After carrying out the assault, he had brutally murdered her.
Those were the specific crimes.
With those matters established...
The offenses and basic circumstances of the case had been settled. All that remained was to focus on the discussion of sentencing.
Sexually assaulting a young