True Crime Friday: Duan Guocheng, the Red Dress Serial Killer
Duan Guocheng was born in 1973 in China. He robbed, raped and murdered thirteen women in central China from 1999 through 2001. He is known as the Red Dress Killer and the Red Dress Slasher. He chose his victims when they were alone and wearing the color red. Most of his victims were wearing red dresses but if they wore anything red and were walking the streets along, they would be targets of this depraved serial killer. The authorities advised women to stop wearing red because the killer was choosing his victims based upon the color.
The Early Childhood of Duan Guocheng
Not much is known about Duan Guocheng early childhood years. He was born in Wuhan, China in the province of Hubei. It has been reported that he grew up in poverty. His parents moved constantly to find work and a place to live. Because of the constant relocations Duan found it difficult to make and maintain friends. He stated that he felt lonely. It was not long before he started committing crimes. He was arrested for breaking and entering several homes in the area and was sent to a juvenile detention center.The police started to take notice of the murders of several women. They felt that there was a serial killer in their mist. Most of Duan Guocheng victims were on their way to work or coming home from work. This was either early in the morning or late at night when there was barely another soul on the streets. The women were using back-alley paths as a shorter way to get to work and to get home. The first known murder was of a twenty-four-year-old woman who was stabbed over forty times in 1999. All his victims were stabbed with knives.
The Less Dead Theory
During this time in China women and girls were considered Less Dead. The government preferred boy’s babies over girl babies. Truth is not just in China but around the world it seems some people prefer male babies. In Asian countries it is considered shameful to be poor and homeless. Like most serial killers, Duan grew up in poverty and suffered some type of emotional or physical abuse. As most of you know that read my true crime stories about the Less Dead Theory. Many marginalized communities are considered less dead because before their deaths they are essentially ignored and devalued by their own communities or members of their neighborhoods. They are generally not missed when they are gone. A few examples are sex workers, the homeless, vagrants, migrant farm workers, homosexuals, the poor and the elderly. The police also treat these victims as less dead because there is generally no public outcry or backlash when these crimes are not investigated or solved.The Victims of Duan Guocheng
- Wang Guiyu
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