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发帖数: 11530 | 1 Businessman arrested in 'diabolical, premeditated' killing of Santa Barbara
family
Veronica Rocha and Angel JenningsContact Reporters
A business associate of a well-known practitioner of holistic medicine was
arrested Friday in connection with what authorities called the “diabolical,
premeditated” slayings of the herbalist, his wife and 5-year-old daughter.
Pierre Haobsh, 27, of Oceanside was arrested in San Diego County early
Friday on suspicion of the murders of Weidong Henry Han, 57; Huijie “Jennie
” Yu, 29; and their daughter, Emily, said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill
Brown. A loaded 9-millimeter handgun and property belonging to one of the
victims was found inside the suspect’s car.
The couple ran a popular Chinese herbal clinic on State Street and Han was
the author of several Chinese medicine books.
Pierre Haobsh
Pierre Haobsh (Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office)
Investigators believe Haobsh was recently involved in a business transaction
with Han, Brown said. Detectives are still investigating the motive for the
killings, which they said may have been financial.
“This investigation is far from over,” Brown said. “It is complex and
ongoing.”
Han’s colleagues became concerned about his whereabouts when he
uncharacteristically failed to show up Wednesday morning for a meeting in
Los Angeles, Brown said. Two associates later went to Han’s home, a gated 7
-acre ranchette at the top of a hill off the 101 Freeway.
The front door was ajar and they could see the family cars parked in the
garage.
The two immediately notified sheriff’s deputies, who found the victims’
bodies, wrapped in plastic and duct tape, in the garage, Brown said.
Preliminary indications are that all three suffered gunshot wounds. Han’s
wife and daughter were last seen about 7 p.m. Tuesday, and Han was last seen
at 10 p.m. the same day.
News of the killings sent shock waves through the holistic medicine
community.
Han’s patients arrived Friday at his clinic, the Santa Barbara Herb Clinic,
carrying colorful bouquets and handwritten notes. Irma Russell collected
the flowers and arranged them on a table, creating a memorial for a man who
touched many in Santa Barbara.
For almost half her life, Russell said, Han had treated her for back pain
and chronic flu-like symptoms.
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“You just knew he was going to fix it,” Russell, 71, said. “He worked
magic.”
Patient Ron Rakow, 78, described Han as a “national treasure.”
“His life was solving insolvable problems,” said Rakow, who suffers from
an incurable lung disorder and has breathing problems. Han mixed several
herbs into a tea, which Rakow drank daily. His breathing improved and he can
now exercise several hours a day.
“This is a sacred place where people come here broken and get fixed,”
Rakow said, adding that he was heartbroken to learn of the family's death.
Earlier this week, he received a call from Han's daughter, who invited him
to her 6th birthday party on Saturday. She was a kindergartner at Foothill
Elementary School, just two miles from her home.
The Goleta Union School District was providing counseling services and
support to families whose children attend Foothill Elementary, Supt. William
Banning said.
“Yesterday our community was confronted by the tragic loss of lives due to
violence,” he said in a statement Friday. “Words cannot begin to express
the deep sadness that has overcome us.”
Community Centered Oriental Medicine, a clinic in Santa Barbara, called the
deaths a “tragic loss.” Han was “the real thing, and [we] will miss him
dearly,” the clinic said in a statement.
“Henry helped hundreds of people in this area with his knowledge of Chinese
herbal medicine,” the clinic said. “A graduate of Beijing University of
Chinese Medicine, he practiced here for years treating very difficult and
complicated illnesses, especially cancer.”
Jennings reported from Santa Barbara, Rocha from Los Angeles. |
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