A local court in Shanghai announced Tuesday that a woman has received a death sentence with a two-year reprieve for the fatal abuse and intentional injury of her boyfriend’s three-year-old son. The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court found defendant Zhao Yudie guilty on two counts of abuse and intentional injury, additionally ordering that Zhao’s political rights be stripped for life.
Court documents detail that the abuse began shortly after Zhao moved in with her boyfriend surnamed Huang and his young son in July 2024. Using the toddler’s occasional mischief as a flawed justification, Zhao subjected the child to repeated physical abuse over the course of weeks, including beatings to the boy’s back, buttocks and legs, as well as biting attacks on his limbs.
The fatal incident unfolded on the evening of August 24, 2024, at a park in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area. Irritated by the child running around the park grounds, Zhao launched a brutal attack: she slapped the boy’s head and face repeatedly, beat him with a tree branch, and kicked his body multiple times. In the course of the attack, Zhao threw the toddler down a riverbank slope, causing him to fall and suffer a severe blunt force head injury on the ground.
After returning home later that evening, the young boy lost consciousness. Zhao eventually brought him to a local hospital for emergency care, but medical teams were unable to reverse the damage. The victim passed away on September 4, 2024, from central nervous system failure triggered by the blunt force brain trauma he sustained in the attack. Post-mortem examinations also confirmed widespread injuries across the child’s body: multiple bruises covered his back, face and chest, with distinct bite marks found on his left calf.
In its official ruling, the court clarified that while Zhao’s actions showed clear intent to cause bodily harm, there was no premeditation to kill the child. The court also moved to debunk widespread unsubstantiated rumors that circulated online following the boy’s death, including false claims that Zhao had stabbed the child with toothpicks, that he had been forced to scavenge for food due to starvation, and that only small stones were found in his stomach during the autopsy. The court confirmed all of these viral claims are completely unfounded.
Officials also emphasized that no evidence has emerged to indicate that the boy’s father, Huang, participated in, concealed, or tolerated Zhao’s abuse of his son, ending widespread online speculation about his potential involvement.