A California dermatologist was slapped with multiple felonies by a grand jury.
Dr. Yue “Emily” Yu was charged with three felony counts of poisoning and one felony count of domestic assault resulting in bodily injury nearly a year after facing charges of spiked drinks . Irvine, the mother of her two children, could face up to eight more years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Yu’s husband began to notice that the tea he drank daily tasted strange, and eventually, as part of his own investigation, he installed a covert camera system in the home’s kitchen. During her three days in July 2022, Yu was caught on camera pouring liquid drain cleaner into her husband Jack Chan’s tea on her counter, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said.
Mr. Chen, a radiologist, then scooped up a sample of the tea and handed it over to the Irvine Police Department. This sample was later passed to the FBI, who confirmed that the substance was liquid detergent.
According to the district public prosecutor’s office, the husband suffered from stomach ulcers due to suspected poisoning.
“Our home should be where we feel the safest,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
“However, licensed medical professionals have used the husband’s daily rituals to systematically brew tea with drano-like substances intended to inflict pain and suffering on him. I suffered.”
Yu was previously arrested on suspicion of addiction in August 2022 and released from custody after posting $30,000 bail.
Her husband also filed for divorce that month after ten years of marriage and successfully requested a restraining order to keep his wife away from their two elementary school-age children.
Attorney Steve Hittleman told The Washington Post EXCLUSIVELY on Wednesday that Chen has full custody of the two children, but Yu plans to have visitation rights. ‘s client said he was “appreciative and grateful” that the grand jury chose to indict.
“It’s about making sure there’s a chance that justice is served,” Hittleman said. “This is the next step in resolving this terrible state of affairs. This is tragic on many levels.”
He added he wasn’t sure whether prosecutors would seek a criminal restraining order against Yu at the April 18 arraignment, but he plans to request one extension from the family proceedings.
In August, Chen accused Yu and his mother-in-law of a long history of abuse against him and his two children.
“2-year-olds Emily and Amy were verbally and then physically abused. [our son and daughter] It intensified as they got older,” he said. “They are abusing me both verbally and physically.”
Although her legal team on the criminal charges was not immediately available for comment, Yu’s previous attorney denied the charges in August and suggested Chen spoke to gain custody of their children, ages 7 and 8. claimed to have invented
Hittleman said Wednesday that any suggestion that Chen was trying to take advantage of his wife was false.
“My client was a radiologist during her marriage. Emily Yu was a dermatologist in private practice in Newport Beach, California.”She was the majority wage earner during her marriage. She became the breadwinner of the family and earned far more than my client’s income.
“So the idea that this was somehow designed to give her an advantage is ludicrous. My client had no interest in killing golden geese. The bulk of the income coming into the house is ridiculous.” was from Dr. Yu.”
