Liren Chen, left, is accused of beating his wife Xuanyi Yu to death at their home in Santa Clara, California. Cops found Chen splattered in blood with a swollen hand. (LinkedIn)
A software engineer who works for Google is facing a murder charge after he allegedly beat his wife to death with his bare hands.
Officers in Santa Clara, California, responded to a home around 11 a.m. Tuesday for a well-being check. When officers arrived they met with an acquaintance of 27-year-old Liren Chen and his wife who was concerned for their safety. Chen wasn’t answering his phone or the door. The acquaintance told officers he saw Chen inside the home, “motionless on his knees, had his hands in the air and was staring blankly,” a press release said.
Cops entered the home and took Chen, who was splattered in blood, into custody. They found Chen’s wife directly behind where he was standing in a bedroom. She was suffering from severe blunt force trauma to her head and paramedics pronounced her dead on scene. Chen’s right hand was extremely swollen and purple and he had blood on his clothing, legs, arms, and hands. He also had scratches on his arm, authorities said.
“Domestic violence deaths have been falling in our county but that does not measure the depth and destructiveness of the violence,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement, noting that 911 calls regarding domestic violence have risen. “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. We can help.”
Police did not divulge a motive.
Prosecutors did not identify Chen’s wife but the San Francisco Standard, citing property records, reported her name was Xuanyi Yu. She also worked at Google and before that worked at Amazon, a LinkedIn account says.
Chen’s LinkedIn account says he has worked at Google since 2020. Both Chen and Yu attended Tsinghua University in China and the University of California San Diego.
A judge will arraign Chen on the murder charge once he gets into the hospital.
