The grisly scene that unfolded on July 18 in San Dimas has resulted in Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón charging Weichien Huang with the murder of her wife and attempted murder of her mother-in-law, using a sword in a domestic violence incident. District Attorney Gascón said, "We are deeply saddened by this horrific violence and our hearts go out to the victims' loved ones and community." These charges come with the heavy allegation of Huang having inflicted serious bodily injury on a person 70 years or older.
Details provided by KTLA indicate that Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies quickly responded to a distress call near the intersection of South Huntington Avenue and Bassett Court, where they found a woman with blood on her leg and hands next to a parked U-Haul truck. This woman, who was later identified as the alleged attacker, supposedly wanted to show officers the sword before placing it on the ground and surrendering. Authorities then discovered a second victim with fatal wounds at a nearby residence.
The Sheriff's Department faced significant barriers in their initial investigation due to language differences, requiring interpreters at both the scene and the hospital to help piece together what occurred. Lt. Daniel Vizcarra told KTLA about the challenges: "The preliminary investigation suggests that there may be a family connection, but again, because of the language barrier, we have not confirmed that."
Authorities have categorized the incident as a homicide, the victim having succumbed to injuries from the sword. Communities often expect to find violence confined to the pages of novels, not sprawled on the asphalt of their local thoroughfares. Still, detectives have assured that there is no ongoing threat to the public after cordoning off the area for a full investigation. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department continues to seek information from anyone who might hold insights into the deadly event.
