Walnut Creek man accused of killing wife, mother-in-law now faces 3rd murder charge
Mother and daughter killed in Walnut Creek are mourned as focus turns to twin 8-year-old girls left behind
A close friend is rallying support for twin 8-year-old girls after their mother and grandmother were fatally stabbed in Walnut Creek, allegedly by their father.
MARTINEZ, Calif. - A Walnut Creek man facing double murder charges in the deaths of his wife and his mother-in-law is now being charged in a third homicide.
3rd killing in Los Angeles County
The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office on Monday announced that 43-year-old Howard Wang has been charged in the shooting death of a 41-year-old man in Los Angeles County.
The victim in that killing was the "romantic partner" of Wang's mistress, prosecutors said.
The backstory:
Wang’s wife, Linlin Guo, and her mother, Beimin Cheng, were killed at the family’s home in Walnut Creek on Sept. 18. Authorities said the killings happened while their then 8-year-old twin daughters were present.
Investigators said Howard Wang first slashed the throats of his wife and mother-in-law and then fired two shots from a 9 mm handgun in an attempt to blame an intruder for the killings. He claimed that someone had come into their home, carried out the slayings, prompting him to shoot at the fleeing intruder, according to investigators.
SEE ALSO: Walnut Creek mother says she doesn't blame police officers who fatally shot son
Wang's mistress
In addition to the double murder charges against Wang, prosecutors later charged Wang’s mistress, 45-year-old Yan Wang, of Oakland, in the case as an accessory and with destroying evidence.
And now Howard Wang, along with another man, 33-year-old Demarques James Pearl of Los Angeles, have been charged in a fatal shooting in June 2024 of a 41-year-old man, Chengli Li, described by prosecutors as Yan Wang's romantic partner.
What they're saying:
"Howard Wang and Demarques Pearl planned the murder of Li before travelling together from the Bay Area to Los Angeles County on June 7th," the Contra Costa County DA’s office said. "The following day, Li was shot and killed outside of his apartment in San Gabriel."
The district attorney's office said that the LA County murder case will be joined with the double murders of Wang's wife and mother-in-law and be prosecuted in Contra Costa County.
Wang is scheduled for an arraignment on the new murder charge on April 14 in Martinez. Pearl’s arraignment is planned for Wednesday.