District attorney moves to dismiss case against doc accused of poisoning radiologist husband
Orange County’s district attorney has moved to dismiss a case accusing a California dermatologist of poisoning her now-ex-husband with drain cleaner, though the legal battle is poised to continue.
A grand jury previously indicted Yue “Emily” Yu—45 at the time and a resident of Irvine—in April 2023. She faces four felony counts and more than eight years in prison if convicted, the county DA said two years ago.
Prosecutors have now filed a motion to dismiss the case after a key witness couldn’t appear during the first day of trial, CBS Los Angeles reported Monday. However, they still plan to refile criminal charges, the outlet noted.
As reported previously, radiologist Jack Chen, MD, began noticing a strange taste in his daily cup of tea in April 2022. When the problem persisted, he set up a camera in the family’s Irvine, California, kitchen. On three separate occasions in July 2022, the device purportedly captured Yu pouring a substance out of a bottle of drain cleaner into the beverage while it cooled on the counter. Chen suffered from stomach ulcers after the alleged poisoning, according to local authorities.
“Our homes should be where we feel the safest,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in 2023. “Yet, a licensed medical professional capitalized on her husband’s daily rituals to torment her husband by systematically plying his tea with a Drano-like substance intending to cause him pain and suffering.”
Chen collected samples of his beverage and shared them with the Irvine Police Department. The FBI later confirmed the substance contained such household chemicals. Authorities arrested Yu in August 2022 under suspicion of poisoning but released her when she posted the $30,000 bond.
Defense attorneys for Yu have claimed she was not trying to poison her husband, CBS noted. Instead, she was pouring Drano as a trap to kill ants in the kitchen. Her radiologist husband had reportedly suggested this method, with the couple in the middle of a divorce at the time.
"It's our opinion that the medical evidence is inconsistent with his claim that he consumed the Drano," Yu's attorney, Scott Simmons, said in 2023. "As you know, Drano is a caustic substance. You would have severe injuries from consuming the Drano.”
Chen, who was 53 at the time of the incident, has since finalized their divorce following 10 years of marriage, the New York Post reported. He also has been granted full custody of their two children. Chen has previously practiced interventional and diagnostic radiology in Tarzana, California, and was affiliated with multiple medical centers in the area, according to Doximity.
CBS said the case is expected back in court on Oct. 24.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.