Murder detective reveals how police solved case of Yorkshire student killed hours after first UK lockdown

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Oughton has revealed the logistical obstacles officers faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning technology became such a vital tool.

Xiangyu Li, who was 26 and from China, was tragically found dead on Union Street in the city centre in the early hours of March 24, last year.

He had been violently assaulted and left in the street.

DCI Oughton said: "Xiangyu was killed as the nation was reeling from unprecedented changes to daily life. Policing, like every other organisation, sector, or industry, was rapidly looking at how it was to carry on delivering the best possible service to the public.

“Xiangyu’s death was our first murder investigation under Covid-19 restrictions, little did we know in those early hours what logistical challenges we would have to tackle."

The first sign that this was to be an investigation with agile working at its centre, was the first full team briefing, carried out via video call with officers working right across South Yorkshire.

Where representatives from different teams would usually be in the same room, limiting contact meant technology became vital.

CCTV footage captured Chinese national Yonggi Liang, 25, launch a volley of punches against Xiangyu, after he dragged him to the ground.

After attempting CPR, the University of Sheffield student fled the scene.

Tragically, Xiangyu died at the scene.

The investigation quickly took a new turn, with officers discovering Liang had fled the country, despite travel restrictions, attempting to return to China via Dublin and Frankfurt.

Through the hard work of the Major Crime Unit, a European arrest warrant was obtained overnight and Liang was arrested as he arrived in Germany.

“Amidst dramatic restrictions to how we travel, the suspect managed to get himself on a flight – but thanks to the incredible work of our officers he didn’t get very far," DCI Oughton said.

The biggest challenge that Covid-19 presented was in relation to contact with the Xiangyu's family. DCI Oughton said: “Our family liaison officer in this case did a masterful job, ensuring that Xiangyu’s family could get to the UK and felt supported throughout the whole process.

"The family meeting was one of the most difficult I have ever been involved in. Speaking to a devastated family, through masks and translators was not only bizarre, but extremely hard for everyone involved.

“"I cannot imagine how they felt, travelling to the UK, as the pandemic took hold, facing the death of their child."

Liang pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was jailed for five years at Sheffield Crown Court.

Presiding judge, the Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson QC, has now praised officers involved in the investigation for their "skill and expedition shown in the most extraordinary of times" and "whilst facing difficulties arising just hours after a national lockdown".

DCI Oughton said: "This was a fantastic team effort and every person who was involved worked incredibly hard to secure a result for the family.”