A Google software engineer has been charged with murder in Santa Clara, California after he allegedly beat his wife to death inside their palatial home.
In a statement, Santa Clara police said that officers found 27-year-old Liren Chen standing in the bedroom, with his wife’s body lying behind him on the floor. The wife, Xuanyi Yu had severe blunt force injuries to her head and Chen’s right hand was “extremely swollen and purple”.
Police also said that he had blood on his clothing, arms, legs, and hands, along with scratches on his arm.
The officers discovered the attack scene after they responded to a 911 call from an acquaintance of Liren Chen at a home located at Valley Way on January 16 around 11 am (local time).
He expressed concern about Liren Chen and his wife, who was also a Google engineer.
He said that Chen was refusing to answer his phone or his door. He also said that he could see Chen inside his home “motionless on his knees” with his “hands in the air” and “staring blankly”.
The 27-year-old’s arraignment was delayed until Jan. 22 because Chen remains hospitalized, court records said.
“Domestic violence deaths have been falling in our county but that does not measure the depth and destructiveness of the violence,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a press release. “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.”
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by what has happened to Xuanyi,” Google spokesperson Bailey Tomson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Our thoughts are with her family at this time, and we will work to provide support to them and to co-workers who are processing this tragic news.”
Both Liren Chen and Xuanyi Yu studied in China’s Tsinghua University, and at the University of California, San Diego, according to their LinkedIn pages.
