A female serial killer who was on the run for over 20 years has been sentenced to death by a Chinese court.

Lao Rongzhi, 47, was sentenced to death at a court in the city of Nanchang in the Chinese province of Jiangxi on 9th September.

Along with her boyfriend, who was executed by the state in 1999 for his role in the murders, she killed seven people between 1996 and 1999.

She was sentenced for her part in four robberies and the kidnapping and murder of their victims, including a three-year-old girl.

The trial took place in December over two days where the defendant admitted to robbery and kidnapping, but said he boyfriend was solely responsible for the seven murders.

Fa Ziying, her ex-boyfriend, was executed in 1999 for his part in the crimes.

Lao is quoted as telling the court in tears on Thursday: “I believe the law will not treat a good person unjustly, neither will it let off a bad person.”

She was sentenced for conspiring to kidnap, rob, and kill seven victims in four Chinese cities, Hefei, Changzhou, Wenzhou, and Nanchang.

During the crime spree between 1996 and 1999, Lao decided on the targets while her lover carried out the violence.

The court found that she been directly involved in five murders and held responsible for the other two.

The court heard how they killed a couple and their daughter, 3, before robbing the family’s house in 1996.

Her boyfriend, arrested in 1999, helped Lao remain on the run by giving them false information about her whereabouts.

She then spent the next 20 years living under fake names and doing jobs in bars and nightclubs until being arrested in a shopping centre in the city of Xiamen in November 2019.

During the trial, Lao claimed her lover was abusive and that he forced her to take part in the crime spree.

The Beijing News said her family believes she was forced to carry out the crimes as well and do not accept the court’s verdict.

Lao confirmed that her defence team intends to appeal the decision.