We have previously reported that in Contra Costa County, Northern California, a Chinese man, Howard Wang, brutally cut the throats of his wife Linlin Guo (transliteration) and mother-in-law Beimin Cheng (transliteration) in front of their 8-year-old twin daughters, and escaped with the help of his mistress Yan Wang (transliteration).
According to the latest announcement from the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office, this case is even more heinous than previously announced: In order to be with his mistress Wang Yan, Wang had previously hired a murderer to kill Wang Yan's boyfriend, then killed his wife and mother-in-law, abandoned his two 8-year-old twin daughters, and tried to escape with Wang Yan in panic.
Currently, the two murder cases are jointly prosecuted, but due to California's judicial policy of "preferential treatment" for criminals, even if convicted, the nominal maximum sentence is life imprisonment, but in fact, he can be released after serving 25 years.
Outrageous
Kill your mistress and boyfriend first, then your wife
According to the indictment, Wang Yan’s boyfriend was 41-year-old Chengli Li (transliteration), who lived in San Gabriel City, a Chinese district in Los Angeles. In June 2024, Wang hired gang member Demarques James Pearl (Los Angeles resident) to drive from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles. In the early morning of July 8, he ambushed and killed Li Chengli outside an apartment in San Gabriel City.
Since the incident occurred in the early morning and there was no relevant surveillance, the case was listed as an unsolved case by the Los Angeles County Police Department. It was not until September 2025, when Wang killed his wife and mother-in-law and escaped with Wang Yan that the case came back into the attention of investigators.
According to the criminal facts announced in the indictment, after killing Li Chengli, Wang returned home and repeatedly asked for a divorce from his wife. His wife refused to divorce for the sake of their two twin daughters. As a result, Wang repeatedly committed domestic violence against his wife, and ultimately an irreparable tragedy occurred on September 18, 2025.
The police investigation report shows that on September 18, the police received a report that there was a disturbance and possible shooting at Wang’s home. When the police arrived, they found the bodies of Guo Linlin and Cheng Beimin. Wang lied to the police that armed robbers broke into his home. He shot the robbers away and found the two dead.
Arrogant
Mistress destroys evidence, beats victim's family
However, the forensic investigation revealed these lies. Wang killed his wife and mother-in-law by slitting their throats with a knife, and then arrested Wang who tried to escape with his mistress.
When the court first opened on September 23, mistress Wang Yan had a physical conflict with the victim's family in the court, and they were finally separated after the intervention of the police. Subsequently, Wang Yan was arrested.
It turned out that the police discovered that on the day after the incident, which was the day Wang was arrested, Wang Yan entered the murder scene without permission and destroyed evidence. As a result, she was charged with accessory to murder, first-degree residential burglary and misdemeanor destroying evidence.
If convicted of all charges, Wang faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, according to California's so-called "criminal justice reform", the SB1437 bill passed in 2020, as long as the offender is over 50 years old and has served more than 25 years, he can apply for parole.
If the time spent in custody before sentencing is included and double the time served, Wang can be released on parole before the age of 68 at the latest.
