(KRON) — A Santa Clara man viciously beat his wife to death inside their home, according to prosecutors. The accused killer, 27-year-old Liren Chen, is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Friday to face murder charges.
Police found Chen’s wife deceased on the morning of January 16 inside the couple’s house on Valley Way in Santa Clara. Officers said they had been called to the house by an acquaintance who was concerned about the couple’s wellbeing.
“Police found Liren Chen … spattered with blood, in his home, with his wife’s body nearby,” the District Attorney’s Office wrote. Chen was sitting “motionless on his knees, had his hands in the air, and was staring blankly.”
Behind Chen, officers saw his wife’s battered body on the floor of their bedroom. She had suffered blunt force injuries to her head. Chen’s right hand was “extremely swollen and purple,” prosecutors said. He also had blood on his clothing, legs, arms, and hands, according to investigators.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen said 911 calls regarding domestic violence have risen recently in Santa Clara County.
Rosen said, “Domestic violence deaths have been falling in our county but that does not measure the depth and destructiveness of the violence. Anyone who feels that they or someone else is being abused by their partners, please reach out your local law enforcement agency. You are not alone.”
The victim’s name was not released by law enforcement officials.
Another South Bay man, 56-year-old John Maxey Yeager of Los Gatos, is accused of killing his wife and dumping her body in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Los Gatos Monte Sereno Police Department officers began investigating Yeager this January after his wife, YingYing “Dawn” Yu never showed up to work after New Year’s Eve. Her employer alerted police.
Yeager gave police inconsistent statements when he was asked about Yu’s whereabouts, police said. Investigators later found human remains dumped in a remote area off Summit Road. Yeager was arrested on January 11 and booked into a Santa Clara County jail on suspicion of homicide. The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner is working to identify the body as 40-year-old Yu.
“We appreciate the assistance, trust and confidence placed in us by Dawn Yu’s community, colleagues and family throughout the investigation and express our deepest condolences to all who knew Dawn Yu,” LGMSPD said.
In Los Altos, a man and woman were found dead inside a house on West Edith Avenue on Tuesday. Police said it appears that the residents died not long before officers found their bodies. The names of the deceased, and their cause of death, have not been released by law enforcement officials.
