Murder leaves a heartfelt legacy

Members of the Pfrang Association spend time with students in northern Jiangsu province. Photos Provided to China Daily

Relatives and friends of slain family raise funds to support poor communities that breed desperation and violence, Cang Wei and Song Wenwei report in Nanjing.

This story has a bloody and sad beginning.

In the early hours of April 1, 2000, four young men crept into a lakeside villa in Nanjing. At first they just intended to steal things. In the end, they killed the German family living there - Petra, Juergen, Sandra and Thorsten Pfrang.

The four men were caught at the scene. Media that attended the trial described them as frightened and looking panicked. Six weeks later, they were sentenced to death by a local court.

Juergen Pfrang, 51, was a manager working for Daimler AG, formerly known as DaimlerChrysler, in the neighboring city of Yangzhou. He and his family had settled in Nanjing in 1998.

Juergen was a tall man with an even temper. He liked sports and sometimes went cycling with his family.

Juergen drove more than 100 kilometers from Yangzhou to Nanjing on Wednesday and Friday to spend the night and the weekend with his wife and children, and then drove back to work on Thursday and Monday morning.

Petra Pfrang, 40, was an active community member and always dedicated to her family. Fifteen-year-old Sandra and 13-year-old Thorsten were both students of Nanjing International School.

The Pfrang family was always willing to help others, including a young couple that came from Africa to further their studies in Nanjing. Their life became hard after the wife gave premature birth to their baby girl.