(NewsNation) — Dermatologist Dr. Yue “Emily” Yu, 45, appeared briefly in court to face charges of trying to poison her husband, but has not yet entered an expected not guilty plea.
Yu’s attorney requested that the court postpone the arraignment until May 18, a request granted by the court, in part to allow the defense to obtain all grand jury documents.
The California doctor is accused of poisoning her husband, Dr. Jack Chen, by putting drain cleaner in his tea. She was indicted by a grand jury and arrested on charges of felony poisoning and domestic battery.
Prosecutors said her husband noticed a strange taste to his tea in April 2022 and installed cameras in the family’s kitchen, which captured video of Yu pouring a substance on three occasions from a bottle of drain cleaner into the tea.
The man collected samples of the tea that he gave to authorities, who confirmed the substance was consistent with drain cleaner, the statement said. The substance, authorities said, caused the man to suffer stomach ulcers.
Yu’s attorney said there are innocent explanations for what was caught on video and suggested Yu’s husband is using the accusation to get a better outcome in divorce proceedings.
“Dr. Chen told Dr. Yu to put Drano into the lemonade cup to kill the ants. They had an ant problem, it’s undisputed there’s an ant problem in the kitchen. He told her to use Drano to kill the ants,” Scott Simmons, Yu’s attorney, said. “The medical evidence is inconsistent with the claim that he consumed the Drano.”
Chen’s divorce attorney, Steven Hittleman, has refuted the claim.
“It was either to help to clean the pipes or to help to control ants. And I’m waiting for the next excuse,” he said.
In court, Yu said little. She is expected to plead not guilty when court resumes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.