BEIJING - A group of farmers are facing the death penalty after being accused of killing three people and then burying the evidence in fake mine accidents.

In a case eerily similar to the plot of the award-winning Chinese movie Blind Shaft, the four suspects are accused of killing their victims and blaming the deaths on mine accidents to extort money from mine owners.

Huang Yucai, 52, and his 41-year-old nephew, Huang Xianzhong, appeared alongside co-defendants Shi Xuesong and Zhang Xihua at Beijing's No 1 Intermediate People's Court on Tuesday. The trial was adjourned for further investigation.

"This is a complicated case, so it could take time for the court to study all the evidence at hand," court official Yang Qianhui said. She refused to speculate on when the trial might reopen.

Prosecutors said the murders took place in illegal coal mines. Court documents stated that Huang Yucai, Huang Xianzhong and Shi killed two relatives in 2007 in an area west of Beijing. The second incident, in July 2009, took place in the capital's Fangshan district, about 40 kilometers southwest of downtown, and involved the same three men, as well as Zhang, the only female defendant.

In each case, the victim's head was caved in using a hammer or a heavy tool, even as supports were removed from the shaft overhead to cause a collapse, according to police.

"In the first incident Huang Yucai's brother-in-law, who was mentally challenged, and his cousin were killed," said Han Xiujie, a police officer with the Fangshan public security bureau. "The victim (in the second incident) was Han Junhong, Zhang's husband."

Although authorities have struggled to gather solid evidence following the 2007 collapse, resulting in a payout for the accused, detectives said they had reasons to believe otherwise.

"We had no doubt that the 2009 incident was not a case of a simple mine accident. During the initial investigation we found a hammer and other tools that were likely used to carry out the murder," said Han Xiujie, adding that the case was immediately handed to the prosecuting authority.

Other material evidence found at the scene included the victim's pocket watch and a pair of shoes, according to documents presented to the court.

All four suspects were detained in their home village of Tangtougou, North China's Hebei province, within weeks of the second mine collapse.

A spokesperson for the prosecution said authorities had attempted to bring the case to trial twice before it finally went before judges on Tuesday. However, the spokesperson would not confirm whether this was because Huang Yucai and Huang Xianzhong had retracted earlier confessions.

Tang Hongxin, an attorney at Ying Ke Law Firm who specializes in criminal cases, said that if the defendants were found guilty, they will likely face the death penalty, as their behavior will be seen to have had "negative effects on society".

"If it were true, and these guys did it for the money, it showed that they lacked respect for life," added professor Li Meijin, an expert in criminal psychology at the Chinese People's Public Security University.

Wang Liwen, village head of Tangtougou, said his small farming community was rocked by the allegations against fellow residents.

"Zhang's in her 40s and has always been easygoing and friendly to everyone. We can't believe this honest woman did such an inhuman thing," he said in a telephone interview, adding that most villagers were unaware that the divorced mother-of-two had been married to Han Junhong at the time of his death.

"Maybe she was forced into whatever she did by the other suspects," Wang said. "Everyone is looking forward to a fair sentence from the court."