{"id":10745,"date":"2026-05-29T22:02:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T22:02:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10745"},"modified":"2026-05-29T22:02:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T22:02:25","slug":"oc-judge-tosses-case-accusing-doctor-of-poisoning-husband-with-drano-at-irvine-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10745","title":{"rendered":"OC judge tosses case accusing doctor of poisoning husband with Drano at Irvine home"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By PAUL ANDERSON<\/strong><\/p>\n

An Orange County Superior Court judge on Friday, May 29, dismissed an indictment against a Mission Viejo dermatologist accused of poisoning her husband \u2014 also a physician \u2014 in their Irvine home by putting Drano into his tea, because prosecutors withheld evidence from grand jurors that could have helped the defense.<\/p>\n

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The case against Yue \u201cEmily\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

Defense attorneys Scott Simmons and Dan Wagner argued that prosecutors refused a request from the grand jury to investigate some evidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cEmily Yu should not have been indicted. From the outset, Emily has maintained that she did nothing wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an open question whether prosecutors can file another case against Yu, but Wagner and Simmons said they would immediately move to dismiss it.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Kimberly Edds, the district attorney\u2019s spokeswoman, said the case could be refiled.<\/p>\n

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Grand jurors asked about Yu\u2019s side of the story and were rebuffed, Wagner and Simmons said. Prosecutors are obligated to provide both sides of a case, the attorneys said.<\/p>\n

Yu was \u201crelieved\u201d when the indictment was dismissed, her attorneys said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe really wants to move on with her life,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cShe hasn\u2019t practiced medicine this whole time. It\u2019s really a bummer for her, and she hasn\u2019t been able to see her children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Yu\u2019s only contact with the children has been Zoom meetings because of a custody case, which is ongoing.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Simmons has said previously that Chen told Yu \u201cto use Drano\u201d to deal with an ant infestation in the house. Simmons also argued that medical tests would show that Chen\u2019s maladies are not consistent with drinking Drano, but are more likely from acid reflux.<\/p>\n

Chen said, in a restraining order he filed against his wife, that he \u201cstarted noticing a chemical taste in my lemonade\u201d and soon after that he \u201cdeveloped symptoms that had me see the doctor, who performed an examination and diagnosed me with two stomach ulcers, gastritis and esophagitis.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Southern California News Group reporter Sean Emery contributed to this story.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Defense attorneys Scott Simmons and Dan Wagner argued that prosecutors refused a request from the grand jury to investigate some evidence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nOC judge tosses case accusing doctor of poisoning husband with Drano at Irvine home - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10745\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"OC judge tosses case accusing doctor of poisoning husband with Drano at Irvine home - 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