By PAUL ANDERSON
An Orange County Superior Court judge on Friday, May 29, dismissed an indictment against a Mission Viejo dermatologist accused of poisoning her husband — also a physician — in their Irvine home by putting Drano into his tea, because prosecutors withheld evidence from grand jurors that could have helped the defense.
Read more Alexander: Enjoy Major League Baseball while you can
The case against Yue “Emily” Yu has been beset by legal issues going back to the beginning of the year, when Orange County Superior Court Judge Patrick Donahue allowed prosecutors to file a new indictment with added charges of attempted poisoning.
Defense attorneys Scott Simmons and Dan Wagner argued that prosecutors refused a request from the grand jury to investigate some evidence.
“We are grateful that the court closely examined the proceedings that produced this charge and recognized that the process by which the indictment was obtained was fundamentally flawed,” Simmons said. “Emily Yu should not have been indicted. From the outset, Emily has maintained that she did nothing wrong.”
The indictment dismissed on Friday followed one in 2023, which charged her with a felony count of corporal injury and three felony counts of poisoning. The 2026 indictment, which replaced the 2023 one, added new charges of attempted poisoning.
Donahue previously ruled under the prior indictment that prosecutors would have to show injury to the alleged victim, but they would not have to prove injury under the issue of attempted poisoning.
It’s an open question whether prosecutors can file another case against Yu, but Wagner and Simmons said they would immediately move to dismiss it.
Kimberly Edds, the district attorney’s spokeswoman, said the case could be refiled.
Read more Former Southern California mayor pleads guilty to secretly acting as agent of Chinese government
Grand jurors asked about Yu’s side of the story and were rebuffed, Wagner and Simmons said. Prosecutors are obligated to provide both sides of a case, the attorneys said.
Yu was “relieved” when the indictment was dismissed, her attorneys said.
“She really wants to move on with her life,” Simmons said. “She hasn’t practiced medicine this whole time. It’s really a bummer for her, and she hasn’t been able to see her children.”
Yu’s only contact with the children has been Zoom meetings because of a custody case, which is ongoing.
Wagner and Simmons filed a brief when the case was expected to go to trial last year indicating they intended to prove the allegations of poisoning were bogus and were used to help the alleged victim, Dr. Jack Chen, get a leg up in his child custody battle with Yu.
Simmons has said previously that Chen told Yu “to use Drano” to deal with an ant infestation in the house. Simmons also argued that medical tests would 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 of their Irvine home, and he alleged it shows his wife pouring Drano into his drinks.
Read more Ex-Arcadia mayor pleads guilty to working as agent of China
Southern California News Group reporter Sean Emery contributed to this story.