“Bury them alive for me,” a member of the demolition team said. “I will be responsible for their lives.”

In a horrific turn of events, the bulldozer shoved Li and Ding into a pit and covered their bodies with soil. While Li was able to dig his way free, his wife suffocated under the dirt before she could be rescued.

Police told the organization that the two perpetrators from the demolition team are currently criminally detained while a criminal investigation team from the public security bureau reviews their case.

However, local believers revealed that the various government departments managing the area did not show up to oversee the demolition, and police took a suspiciously long time to arrive at the scene after a report of the murder was filed.

“Bulldozing and burying alive Ding Cuimei, a peaceful and devout Christian woman, was a cruel, murderous act,” China Aid president Bob Fu said. “This case is a serious violation of the rights to life, religious freedom and rule of law. The Chinese authorities should immediately hold those murderers accountable and take concrete measures to protect the religious freedom of this house church’s members.”

China Aid reveals that the government is pressing Li not to disclose the details of the case to the media, but the pastor continues to urge the justice system to examine the motive and circumstances behind his wife’s murder.

This tragic event is simply the latest in a long string of demolitions that are part of an ongoing campaign since 2014 to take down church crosses over alleged building code violations. However, Christian groups believe the targeting is specifically aimed at halting the rise of Christianity in the country.