A Chinese-American Google software engineer from California could face life in prison for murdering his wife after police found the woman beaten to death on Jan. 16, following calls for a welfare check on the couple.
Twenty-seven-year-old Liren Chen stands accused of repeatedly punching his wife in the head in their Santa Clara home, leaving their bedroom covered in blood, according to prosecutors.
Chen’s wife’s name is redacted in the documents, but property records revealed that he was was married to to Xuanyi Yu, also a Google employee. Records show the couple owned a home at 714 Valley Way, although the victim was not officially identified as of Jan. 19, according to the San Francisco Standard.
A friend of the couple had called the police after he was concerned that neither Chen nor Yu answered their phones or front door. However, through the window, the friend could reportedly see Chen inside the home on his knees with his hands in the air, motionless and staring blankly, the New York Post reported.
Police reportedly found Chen bloodstained and in a catatonic state upon his arrest, with his hands and elbows bruised, the battered body of his wife behind him. It was determined that Yu had suffered severe blunt force injuries to her head, court records show.
“Chen’s right hand was extremely swollen and purple. He had blood on his clothing, his legs, arms, and hands,” a police detective wrote.
When asked how he sustained the injuries, he responded by saying that he punched his wife, further stating the attack happened the previous day.
Chen was taken to a hospital, where he is currently awaiting a court hearing for a murder charge. Due to his state he has not been arraigned pending questioning from police.
According to a LinkedIn profile in his name, Chen worked on the YouTube Shorts recommendation algorithm, while another profile on the platform lists his wife also as a software engineer, with previous employment at Amazon. It was confirmed by prosecutors that Chen worked for Google.
“Domestic violence deaths have been falling in our county but that does not measure the depth and destructiveness of the violence. Anyone who feels that they or someone else is being abused by their partners, please reach out to your local law enforcement agency. You are not alone. We can help,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement, as reported by SFS.
“We will be returning to court each day until Mr. Chen is released from the hospital and able to be personally present for his arraignment,” a statement by Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said.
Property records further revealed that Chen and his wife had purchased their home last year for around $2 million. Their LinkedIn profiles also stated that they attended Tsinghua University in Beijing and the University of California San Diego.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by what has happened to Xuanyi,” according to Google spokesperson Bailey Tomson, who gave a statement to the New York Post.
“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,” the statement adds.
The news has heavily impacted the Chinese American community and has made headlines both in the United States and China. The associated media frenzy was exacerbated by false claims of a murder-suicide on the front pages of two major national Chinese-language newspapers, World Journal and Sing Tao.
Further confusion also arose following reports of two different incidents in a Los Altos property earlier last week, which involved the discovery of two dead bodies.
The publications also delved into speculation that recent layoffs at Google were the cause for the murder of Xuanyi Yu, which has neither been confirmed nor refuted.
NTD has contacted Google and Santa Clara Police Department for further information.
Anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Hagg at 408-615-4814.
