The student surnamed Wang, went to a teaching building of a neighbouring university in Wuhan city on June 10, 2013 to look for a phone to steal, the provincial TV station reported.
Wang could not afford a cellphone and was told by his classmates that students often accidentally leave their phones in classrooms.
Wang, pretending to be a faculty member, told students in several classrooms to leave because the university was about to close the building, state-run Global Times reported today.
Wang later stabbed the girl 160 times with a pair of scissors fearing that she may call the police.
Police arrested Wang after viewing surveillance camera footage.
Wang was executed by the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court along with other criminals on Saturday.