As a result of allegations that she poisoned her husband Jack Chen’s tea with Drano, a California dermatologist named Dr. Yue ‘Emily’ Yu has been charged with criminal charges.
At a hearing on Wednesday, Dr. Yue ‘Emily’ Yu was charged with one felony offense of domestic abuse with corporal harm and three felony charges of poisoning.
Yu, a single mother of two, faces more than eight years in jail if found guilty.
Chen put a nanny cam in the kitchen of his $2.7 million house last year when he detected something off about the flavor of his tea. He saw Yu adding an unknown liquid to his morning tea and brought a sample to the police, who identified the substance as a toxic drain cleaner. Chen made it through the ordeal, but he now suffers from ulcers.
According to Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, Yu deliberately tortured her husband with poison without his knowledge, therefore leaving him questioning his feelings of security.
According to Chen’s attorney Steve Hittleman, the father of the couple’s children is said to be “pleased” by the indictment. Chen said the doctor had verbally harassed him and his children for years, including telling them to “go die.”
After Yu’s detention, Chen sought a restraining order as she was later freed on $30,000 bail. Chen and Yuqin ‘Amy’ Gu, who works for the Providence Hospital system in Mission Viejo, California, have been suspected of poisoning Chen’s son and daughter. According to Chen, Yu also beat her two-year-old son on the head and arms and spanked her three-year-old daughter.
There is still no clear explanation for the horrible crime. Yu, a Mission Viejo-based Providence Healthcare system worker, has had her professional headshot scrubbed off the company’s website. A spokesperson confirmed that they were helping the police.
Bingham said that Chen’s symptoms had deteriorated over the last month, but he could not say whether or not a blood test had indicated the presence of the toxin.
