According to the police in Jinshan District of Shanghai, a fire broke out in a residential house on Nov. 15, 2015, killing a couple, both 85 years old. The police said this couple chose to end life in that way.

Their grandchildren came to their home on the morning of Nov. 15, 2015 and departed at noon. The thick smoke was spotted coming out of their burning house by their next-door neighbor at about 1:30 p.m. Their neighbor called the police for help and tried their best to save this couple.

The iron door was chained shut and the wooden door was locked from inside, according to the police at the scene. The police and their neighbors at the scene smelled gas. The fire was put out quickly by the firefighters, but this couple had died. "The husband and wife lie next to each other, holding hands," said their neighbor Chen Gaoshan.

They have been married before they met each other and got married in their fifties. Four years ago, the wife was paralyzed, and had been taken care of by Zhu.

More than a month ago, the daughter of the wife told the neighborhood committee that her stepfather did not allow her to visit her mother. The director of the neighborhood committee surnamed Lei advised the husband to give a key of their house to this stepdaughter. The husband replied that children can take care of his wife if they would like to. But he did not give the key to his stepdaughter.

The old man once wrote a letter of thanks in the tone of his wife, saying that due to her illness, she had been confined to her bed for years and her time had come; she expressed thanks to all the neighbors who had helped her. The old man posted this letter on the iron door. The neighbors felt sorry that they chose to leave this world in that way.

The husband surnamed Zhu laid sacrifices and eight 100 yuan banknotes on the table at the door of his house. Zhu said that he wanted to pray for the health of his wife when his neighbor Chen Gaoshan asked him why he did that. Chen believed Zhu's words as he, a man from southeast China's Fujian province, knows nothing about the customs and traditions in Shanghai. Now, he realized that Zhu must have made his mind to end the life of himself and his wife.