Judge keeps $1M bail for husband in Parsippany slaying

Oct 10, 2012
Written by
Peggy Wright/Daily Record

A suspected illegal Chinese immigrant charged with stabbing his wife to death Friday night at a Parsippany restaurant the victim co-owned initially told police her wounds were self-inflicted, a prosecutor said at a bail hearing Thursday.

Slightly built and appearing calm, suspect Jiu Jian Zheng, 42, was brought before state Superior Court Judge Stuart Minkowitz in Morristown for a review of the $1 million bail set upon his arrest for the slaying of his wife, Yun “Wendy” Fei Lin, 34.

The judge maintained bail at $1 million, concluding that Zheng’s ties to the United States are tenuous and he poses “a flight risk in the extreme.”

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor John McNamara Jr. asked the judge to maintain bail at $1 million on the defendant, who reportedly is in the United States illegally from China and lives in Parsippany but has a New York driver’s license that shows a different birthdate than the one officials believe is real.

With the aid of an interpreter speaking Mandarin Chinese, Zheng politely told the judge that he understood the charges and stated, when asked about legal counsel: “I’m indigent. I want the services of a public defender.”

According to an arrest affidavit, police were summoned by two 911 calls around 11:40 p.m. Friday to Kazumi Sushi on North Beverwyck Road, where the victim was discovered stabbed in the kitchen. Authorities have said she was stabbed with a knife multiple times and died of acute blood loss.

The first 911 caller hung up; the second could not be understood because of a language barrier. When police got to the restaurant, they saw a blood smear on the door and blood droplets on the ground leading to the sidewalk. Inside, Zheng was standing in the dining area with blood on his clothes and body, the affidavit said.

“His hands appeared to be bleeding from apparent injuries. The defendant began speaking in a foreign language, which neither of the officers understood. He was crying and pacing back and forth through the dining area,” the affidavit said.

Zheng initially told police that his wife’s wounds were self-inflicted but the county medical examiner deemed such an effort “anatomically impossible,” McNamara said. Ultimately, Zheng made incriminating statements, the assistant prosecutor said.
No motive has been made public for the killing.

The affidavit refers to four unidentified “citizen witnesses,” who said they saw Zheng and his wife in the restaurant or saw Zheng climbing the stairs to his apartment adjacent to the restaurant. One witness described Zheng as looking “stressed and nervous, and said he had blood on his arms and was carrying a long wooden stick in his hands, the affidavit said.

“I submit the state’s proofs are overwhelming,” McNamara said, adding that the alleged murder weapon was found in a location that only the defendant would know about.

Zheng has two children, who are being overseen by the state.
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