Jury weighs fate of San Dimas woman accused of fatally stabbing wife with sword – San Bernardino Sun

Jurors will now decide the fate of a San Dimas woman accused of fatally stabbing her wife with a Japanese sword 13 times then trying to end her mother-in-law’s life with the same sword in the couple’s San Dimas home last year.

The couple had argued the same day over divorce papers.

Jury deliberations began Friday afternoon after closing arguments in the trial of 45-year-old Weichien Huang during which the prosecution and defense presented different versions of what happened July 18, 2024 at the house on the 300 block of South Huntington Avenue.

Huang has been charged with murder, attempted murder, corporal injury on a spouse, and destroying or damaging a cellphone to prevent notifying police or other help. The last two counts stem from a May 15, 2023 incident when, during an argument, Huang allegedly threw a cellphone at Chen Chen Fei’s face and broke the phone by throwing it to the ground when Fei said she was going to call 911.

While the prosecutor argued for a murder conviction, the defense told the jury this was involuntary manslaughter. Huang was in a condition known as voluntary intoxicated causing unconsciousness, according to Deputy Public Defender Magaly Cole.

“Unconscious doesn’t mean you’re in the ground asleep,” Cole said. An unconscious person can still move but not be aware of those actions, she added.

Voluntary intoxication means you chose to drink or take a substance, according to Cole. If somebody dies as a result of being voluntary intoxicated, it is involuntary manslaughter, she said.

Huang was intubated in the ambulance and was in the hospital for days, Cole said.

Huang testified that she doesn’t remember what happened from July 14 until she woke up in the hospital. She said she had been taking Ambien for years to deal with pain and didn’t begin to take opioids until November 2023. On July 18, 2024, she said she took Ambien and had beer at separate times.

“This defendant viciously and brutally attacked her wife and took her life,” Deputy District Attorney Brittany Saleeby told jurors.

One sees a pattern with Huang who doesn’t want to be exposed and doesn’t want to be accountable, according to the prosecutor.

“She is angry, dangerous, violent and controlling,” Saleeby said. “Sitting before you is a liar, domestic abuser and murderer.”

Huang chose between two swords, walked into the room where her wife, 47-year-old Fei, was either lying down or sitting and stabbed her 13 times, Saleeby said.

“This was a surprise attack and the defendant is a calculated coward for doing that,” she said.

Fei’s mother, Hsi Huang, who is also called Jackie, told investigators she woke up to the sounds of her daughter screaming. She saw Fei lying facedown.

Huang now had to deal with a witness, Saleeby said, “She tries to kill Jackie.”

Huang swung the sword several times at her mother-in-law, injuring her, according to the prosecutor.

Jackie was able to grab the blade when her daughter-in-law swung it toward her neck, sheriff’s Detective Jennifer Valenzuela said during the June 10 preliminary hearing.

Jackie, carrying the sword, fled to seek help. Huang tried to kill herself by taking pills, Saleeby said.

While deputies later found a bottle of allergy medication the prosecutor didn’t know what pills Huang took.

Deputies checking a call of an injured and bleeding woman that afternoon, saw Jackie carrying the sword which a sergeant described as a katana. She dropped the sword and told deputies to go to her daughter’s home.

At the home, they discovered Fei’s body and also found Huang lying on a bed. Huang was taken to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center.

Saleeby showed jurors the note Weichien Huang wrote while in the hospital. The note said: “I can’t speak. I hate them for making me miserable.”

During cross examination, Saleeby asked the defendant if the handwriting was hers. Huang said it was but claimed she doesn’t recall writing the note.

The prosecutor also showed a cell phone video taken by Fei during an argument in 2022. In the video, Huangs picks up a stick and slams it down. She also told Fei: “You should kill yourself.” and “You don’t deserve a life.” The video ended with Huang rushing toward the phone.

Fei tried to document the abuse by taking the video and Huang resented that her wife was trying to collect evidence, Saleeby said.

The violence was escalating by the May 15, 2023 argument, she said.

Fei moved to Taiwan with her mother on June 2023 and stayed there for about a year, Saleeby said, adding there was a separation between the couple.

In August 2023, Huang admitted to authorities about what she did to Fei in May. But she still didn’t accept accountability for her actions telling the detective twice Fei was verbally abusive, the prosecutor said.