SoCal dermatologist accused of poisoning husband with drain cleaner due in court
By KCAL-News Staff
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ORANGE COUNTY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A Southern California dermatologist charged with poisoning her husband by pouring liquid drain cleaner into his tea is due in Santa Ana court to be arraigned Tuesday morning.
Dermatologist Yue “Emily” Yu is alleged to have poisoned her husband over several weeks by spiking his tea with a liquid drain cleaner, resulting in stomach ulcers.
Yu, 45, was indicted on three felony counts of poisoning and one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury. She faces a maximum sentence of eight years and eight months if convicted on all counts. Her attorney, Scott Simmons, previously stated she intends to plead not guilty.
In early April 2022, Yu’s husband, Dr. Jack Chen, began noticing a strange taste in the tea he drinks daily. He reportedly became suspicious and installed hidden cameras in the family’s Irvine kitchen.
On July 11, July 18, and July 25, 2022, video captured Yu pouring a substance out of a bottle of liquid drain cleaner into her husband’s tea that was left on the counter. Her husband collected samples of the tea and turned them over to the Irvine Police Department. The samples were later turned over to the FBI for testing, which confirmed the substance was consistent with liquid drain cleaner.
Yu’s lawyer Simmons says she had been mixing the drain cleaner with lemonade in cups to bait and kill ants.
Irvine police officers arrested Yu in August 2022 on suspicion of poisoning. She was released on $30,000 bond. Yu is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.
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