Suspect in deadly sword attack charged with murder, attempted murder
A woman arrested earlier this month in connection with a deadly domestic violence incident involving a Samurai sword has been charged with murder and attempted murder.
On Monday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced that Weichien Huang was to be charged in the death of her wife and the attempted killing of her mother-in-law.
Huang was arrested July 18 in San Dimas after Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to the 300 block of South Huntington Avenue and found the woman walking the street while carrying a katana.
Video shared with KTLA showed the moment the suspect was approached by the deputies and laid down her weapon and held her bloody hands in the air.
A woman seen carrying a Samurai-style sword moments before L.A. deputies arrive after a fatal attack on July 18, 2024, in San Dimas. (Danielle Leivo) A woman seen moments before L.A. deputies arrive after a fatal attack on July 18, 2024, in San Dimas. (Danielle Leivo) L.A. deputies at the scene of a fatal sword attack in San Dimas on July 18, 2024. (Danielle Leivo) L.A. deputies at the scene of a fatal sword attack in San Dimas on July 18, 2024. (Danielle Leivo)
Authorities said Huang then led them into a nearby home where one woman was found dead and another was wounded.
Details were limited about the case at the time because all those involved spoke primarily Mandarin Chinese, officials said.
Now new information has been revealed in the investigation, including the relationship between those involved.
The D.A.’s Office says Huang is accused of killing her wife, Fei Chen Chen, with the sword at their home. She also allegedly attacked her wife’s elderly mother, although she survived after spending a week in the hospital for treatment of major injuries.
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District Attorney George Gascón called the violent attacks an example of “the insidious problem of domestic violence that affects many throughout our country.”
“We are deeply saddened by this horrific violence and our hearts go out to the victims’ loved ones and community,” Gascón said.
Huang was expected to appear in a Pomona court on Monday and be formally charged with murder and attempted murder, with special allegations that she inflicted severe bodily injury on a person over 70 and used a sword during the crimes.
Prosecutors were expected to request she be held on $3 million bail, the D.A.’s Office said. If convicted as charged, Huang could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Gascón added that the D.A.’s Office Bureau of Victim Services is ready to provide assistance to the surviving victim, if called upon.
The case remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Department.
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