HOHHOT, April 14 -- The higher court in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Tuesday opened the appeal trial for a convicted serial killer and rapist.

The court will hold a public trial for three cases of the defendant, Zhao Zhihong, including robbery and theft, according to the court.

It declined a public hearing for Zhao's murder and rape charges, based on the need for privacy.

Zhao was sentenced to death after being convicted in February of crimes including the murder of 10 women. He was apprehended in 2005 and confessed to a string of rape and murder cases, including one in Hohhot in 1996 that was pinned on 18-year-old Huugjilt. Huugjilt was exonerated in December 2014, 18 years after his execution.