by Liz Rhoades , Managing Editor
A rally against domestic violence was held outside Qian Wu’s Flushing apartment building in January. She was murdered by a stalker. file photo
Huang Chen has another court date on Friday after being indicted last week for the gruesome first-degree murder of a Flushing woman in January.
It is alleged that Chen, 47, who briefly lived on 40th Road in Flushing, tortured and killed Qian Wu, 46, who lived nearby because she had filed a criminal complaint against him for a previous assault.
He was convicted in that case, served time in prison and was sent to Texas for deportation. But he was released instead and returned to the city to kill Wu, according to prosecutors.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown called the crime “gruesome” and “violent.” He went on to say that “Huang’s alleged violent conduct demonstrates that he is a threat to society.” The defendant had stalked his victim for four years.
Chen was arraigned before Queens County Supreme Court Judge Richard Buchter on an eight-count indictment, charging him with two counts of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence.
He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted and was ordered held without bail.
According to the charges, Chen allegedly approached Wu in her apartment building on Jan. 26 and stabbed her several times in the torso, arms and face. It is also alleged that he removed the victim’s heart and lungs.
Surveillance tape from his apartment building shows Chen returning to his residence with blood on his body and clothing and carrying a small yellow plastic bag. The tape also allegedly shows Chen cleaning blood off the stairwell with a rag. A hammer and utility knife were later recovered from inside a yellow plastic bag that had been placed in a larger bag and put in a garbage can near Chen’s building.
The bag also contained a bloody sweater, bloody jeans and a bloody rag. It is believed the police were unable to find the missing body parts.
Wu’s body was discovered on the third-floor landing, outside her apartment.
In 2006, Wu, who ran an employment agency out of her apartment, filed a criminal complaint against Chen after she was unable to find him a job. He had grabbed a plastic rope, wrapped it around her neck and choked and punched her in the face. He returned the next day and threatened her with a knife.
Chen was arrested for the attack, pleaded guilty to weapons possession and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. Following his sentence, the illegal Chinese immigrant was sent to El Paso for deportation.
He was out on a supervised release when he returned to New York in January.
Just four days before her death, Wu filed a police report with the 109th Precinct, stating she was being harassed by the same man who had threatened her in the past.
Wu had six orders of protection against Chen over the years and elected officials said she should have been informed of his release in Texas. Why the illegal was not deported remains a mystery.
Chen became a suspect in Wu’s murder when he went to New York Hospital Queens for treatment of wounds on his leg and hand, which he said he suffered while being robbed. But hospital officials became suspicious because they only saw blood on his shoes and not his clothes.
Wu is survived by her husband, a 16-year-old son and her father.
Calls to Chen’s lawyer, Michael Schwed, were not returned.
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