Woman who stabbed online nemesis in B.C. courtroom loses appeal of attempted murder sentence

A courtroom sketch shows Qin Shen at her 2023 sentencing hearing.

A woman who bludgeoned and stabbed her online nemesis in a Vancouver courtroom has lost an appeal of her sentence, according to a recent decision.

Qin Shen was sentenced to 12 years in prison following a 2023 trial where she was found guilty of attempted murder for using a hammer and filleting knife to attack the victim, Jing Lu.

The pair met on a website for newcomers from China in 2005 and their “intense online feud” ultimately resulted in both being found liable for defamation after a civil trial in 2019, a B.C. Court of Appeal decision posted online Thursday said. Shen was also found in contempt for continuing to post about Lu in violation of a court order.

The attack, which the sentencing judge found was motivated by “animus” happened on May 25, 2021, at a hearing on another contempt application by Lu—which was being held in person at Shen’s request, the Appeal Court decision said.

“Ms. Shen took several preparatory steps, including arming herself with a knife and hammer, drinking alcohol to bolster her courage, bringing a suitcase with her to court to either take to jail or flee after the attack, and dressing all in red to disguise the red blood stains,” according to the decision.

“At the courthouse, Ms. Shen checked the hallway to ensure no one was close by. Then, while they were waiting for the judge to appear, she attacked Ms. Lu from behind by pummelling her with a hammer and stabbing her with a very sharp and narrow knife. Ms. Shen inflicted at least 10 knife stabs and hammer blows to Ms. Lu before a sheriff entered the courtroom and intervened.”

On appeal, Shen argued the sentencing judge failed to properly or adequately consider how her mental illness contributed to her committing the crime.

At trial, the judge acknowledged Shen’s depression and alcohol misuse but found they did not have a “causal relationship” to the attack on Lu.

“There is no evidence that Ms. Shen’s mental illness or alcohol use contributed to her violent behaviour to a degree that would lower her moral blameworthiness for her actions,” the sentencing decision said.

Shen’s defense counsel told the Appeal Court this was an error significant enough to warrant a reconsideration of the 12-year-sentence. The argument was essentially that Shen’s mental illness was “the soil within which the animus grew” and the two could not be separated.

The high court disagreed, finding the trial judge did consider the interplay between Shen’s mental illness and the attempted murder and came to a conclusion that was legally sound.

“I see no error in (the) assessment of Ms. Shen’s moral blameworthiness,” the decision concluded.

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