A Google engineer, Liren Chen, has been accused of murdering his wife, Xuanyi Yu, by punching her in the head until she died. They are both from China and worked at Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters. The motive for the killing is unknown, but some speculate that it may be related to Google’s recent layoffs.
The case has sparked outrage and concern among the tech community and the Chinese diaspora.
The shocking crime occurred on January 16, 2024, in the couple’s home in Santa Clara, California. According to the police, Chen attacked his wife in their bedroom, hitting her in the head multiple times with his fists. The room was splattered with blood, and Yu’s body was found with severe head injuries.
Chen was discovered in a catatonic state, kneeling on the floor with his hands in the air and his eyes blank. He had a swollen and bruised right arm and scratches on his arms.
Chen and Yu were both software engineers at Google and had studied at Tsinghua University, one of China’s most prestigious institutions. Chen’s LinkedIn profile showed he worked on a YouTube Shorts recommendation algorithm, while Yu’s profile was unavailable.
A Google spokesperson, Bailey Tomson, expressed grief and shock at the news, and said that the company would offer support to the victim’s family and co-workers.
A friend of the couple, who wished to remain anonymous, called the police to check on them after they failed to answer their phones or the door. The friend said they had not seen or heard from them for a few days and were worried about their well-being. The police arrived at the scene and found the horrific scene.
Chen was arrested and charged with murder, but his arraignment has been delayed because he has been hospitalized. The District Attorney, Jeff Rosen, said that the case was a “terrible example of the depth and destructiveness of domestic violence.”
He added that domestic violence deaths had been declining in the county, but that did not reflect the reality of many victims who suffer in silence.
The brutal murder has sent shockwaves through the tech community and the Chinese community in the US. The World Journal, the largest Chinese-language newspaper in the US, reported on the case and cited unconfirmed rumours that Chen may have been affected by Google’s recent layoffs. The paper also questioned the mental health and stress levels of tech workers in Silicon Valley and the lack of resources and support for domestic violence victims and perpetrators.
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