【Epoch Times News, October 17, 2024】Three years ago, Haiyan Deng, a Chinese woman who shot her lover inside a Flushing apartment in New York, was sentenced to 27 years in prison on October 16th in the Queens County Supreme Court.
Deng Haiyan, 34, pleaded guilty to charges of “first-degree manslaughter” and “second-degree burglary” in the Queens County Supreme Court on September 18. Yesterday, Judge Ushir Pandit-Duran announced that Haiyan Deng was sentenced to 22 years in prison for “first-degree manslaughter” and 5 years for “burglary,” with the sentences to be served consecutively, totaling 27 years.
Prior to the sentencing on October 16, the mother, aunt, and widow of the victim Justin strongly condemned the defendant for brutally killing Justin and destroying the victim’s family.
Justin’s mother said, “Even if you were executed a thousand times, it could not erase the hatred I have for you”; Justin’s aunt questioned why Haiyan Deng was so cruel and pointed out that Justin had a good relationship with her, and even gave her money, so why did she kill him after receiving the money. Justin left behind two children, and the family still does not understand the reason for the killing even after three years. Justin’s wife said she did not want to speak out, she was deeply grieved and sorrowful for losing her husband, and she had to face everything and raise the children, finding it difficult to understand the defendant’s actions. She asked, “As a mother, I do not understand your actions because you are also a mother… What is your reason?!”
According to the indictment and investigation, on the evening of September 11, 2021, Haiyan Deng unlawfully entered the residence of her 26-year-old lover Justin Li in Bayside, confronting his wife. For this, Haiyan Deng received a summons for “illegal entry” and was subsequently charged with “first-degree burglary.”
However, after meeting with Haiyan Deng and not seeing Justin Li return home for several days, and his wife being unable to contact him, Justin Li’s wife called the police at 9:00 pm on September 19, 2021. The police went to Haiyan Deng’s residence on 39th Avenue in Flushing.
Upon entering the house, the police were shocked to find a body lying on the bed in the bedroom, with fresh blood still wet, and the deceased was identified as Justin Li. According to the forensic examination, Justin had died 24 hours earlier, with a gunshot to the head and multiple blunt force injuries. The emergency responders pronounced Li dead on the scene.
Video surveillance from that day showed that on September 18, Justin Li and Haiyan Deng arrived at the scene together, around 5:40 am, and entered the apartment building together. Approximately two hours later, Haiyan Deng left alone with multiple packages and drove away in Justin Li’s car.
On September 22, Haiyan Deng was arrested in New Mexico. At that time, her vehicle had stopped at the side of the road due to a tire blowout. The footage showed a female officer approaching Haiyan Deng’s vehicle, which had been parked for almost an hour, asking if she needed assistance. Haiyan Deng, with limited English proficiency, claimed she was waiting for a friend. When the officer checked the Pennsylvania license plate of the vehicle on the radio, she found out that Haiyan Deng was a suspect in a New York murder case. The officer tried to delay and called for backup. Haiyan Deng showed signs of anxiety, attempting to return to her car, and was eventually subdued with the help of the female officer and a passerby.
At that time, Haiyan Deng was already two months pregnant and was extradited to New York for trial.
District Attorney Melinda Katz of Queens expressed after the verdict in the case, “I hope today’s judgment can bring some comfort to the victim’s family.”