Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Wu Yang, also named Wu Zhijun, from Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, along with his wife Ms. Sun Min, went to Beijing to avoid being harassed and persecuted by their local Chinese Communist Party officials. They lived at Jiaomenxili in the Fengtai District.

At around 9:00 a.m. on April 22, 2009, Mr. Wu Yang was distributing Shen Yun Performing Arts DVDs at a "Shoe City" store in Xuanwu District, Beijing City. He was reported, and taken to the Niujie District Police Station by local security guards. Two days later, Mr. Wu Yang and Ms. Sun Min's families in Chifeng realized that the couple was missing. They went to various police departments in Beijing looking for them.

On April 28, 2009, the Fengtai Police Department sent Ms. Sun Min's family a "Death Notice" which stated, "At around 1:30 a.m. on April 23, 2009, Sun Min was found dead as a result of falling from a height at the south side of the No. 19 Building at Chenxinyuan Residential Area, Jiaomenxili, Fengtai District, Beijing City."