The higher court in Inner Mongolia has declared a man innocent in a rape and murder case back in 1996.

Huugjilt, who was 18 at the time, was found guilty of raping and murdering a woman.

He was sentenced to death and executed two months later.

But, years later, an alleged serial rapist and killer, Zhao Zhihong, confessed to the murder. He did so after he was arrested in 2005.

The court has sent the retrial verdict to the parents of Huugjilt.