A new indictment was unsealed Thursday against a Mission Viejo dermatologist accused of poisoning her husband, also a physician, with Drano in his tea, but a judge will rule next week whether prosecutors can proceed with the new charges.
The new indictment against Yue “Emily” Yu follows one in 2023 that adds new charges of attempted poisoning. The legal battle centers around whether prosecutors can proceed in this way with a superseding indictment, with the defendant’s attorneys arguing it is barred by law.
What is partly at stake is whether prosecutors will lose one of their opportunities to charge Yu again if there is a flaw in the indictment. Orange County Superior Court Patrick Donahue is expected to rule on the question on Tuesday.
Yu was previously facing a felony count of corporal injury and three counts of poisoning, all felonies. Now she faces three additional felony counts of attempted poisoning.
Donahue previously ruled that under the previous indictment that prosecutors would have to show injury to the alleged victim, but that they would not have to prove that under attempted poisoning.
Defense attorneys Scott Simmons and Dan Wagner last year filed a trial brief in the case when it was expected to go to trial indicating they intend to prove the allegations of poisoning are bogus and were used to help the alleged victim, Dr. Jack Chen, get a leg up in his child custody battle with Yu. Experts for the defense are expected to make the case that it would be impossible for anyone to ingest such a toxic brew of the plumbing chemical and not be immediately overcome by it.
Simmons has said previously that Chen told Yu “to use Drano” to deal with an ant infestation in the house and then told her to put the chemical in lemonade or tea with sugar before setting up “spy cameras.”
Simmons also argued that medical tests will show that Chen’s maladies are not consistent with drinking Drano, but are more likely from acid reflux.
Chen said in a restraining order he filed against his wife that he “started noticing a chemical taste in my lemonade” and soon after that he “developed symptoms that had me see the doctor, who performed an examination and diagnosed me with two stomach ulcers, gastritis and esophagitis.”
That prompted Chen to set up surveillance video in the kitchen, and he attached videos and photos that he alleged show his wife pouring Drano into his drinks.
Chen also accused Yu of being an abusive parent to their two children.