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California Dermatologist Accused Of Trying To Poison Husband With Drano
Yue "Emily" Yu denies the allegation that she attempted to poison her husband, radiologist Jack Chen. He alleges that he installed a nanny cam and twice caught her in the act of putting Drano in his drinks.
A California dermatologist has been accused of trying to poison her husband with Drano, with footage allegedly captured by a covert nanny cam.
Yue “Emily” Yu, 45, was arrested Thursday by Irvine Police after her husband told authorities earlier that day that he'd begun to suspect his wife was poisoning him when he started to feel sick over the course of a month-long period this summer, according a police statement obtained by Oxygen.com.
Yu’s husband, identified in court papers as radiologist Jack Chen, provided police with “video evidence supporting his suspicion.”
Police interviewed Yu that night and served a search warrant at the couple’s home before she was arrested and booked into the Orange County Jail.
Yu has not been formally charged and her attorney told Oxygen.com that she “unequivocally and absolutely” denied the allegations against her.
In a statement written to secure a restraining order against his wife, Chen described how he set up a secret nanny cam in the family’s kitchen after beginning to feel ill.
The camera allegedly captured Yu pouring Drano into Chen's hot lemonade drink on July 11 and again on July 18, according to the statement obtained by The New York Post — but Chen believes his wife had likely started to poison him a few months before that.
To support his claims, Chen included photos taken from the footage that appear to show Yu holding a red plastic bottle and pouring it into a container on the table.
“This video (from July 18) shows me taking a sip of my still-hot lemonade, covering my cup with Saran wrap, and then of Emily taking the Draino [sic] from under the sink, removing the covering to pour the Draino, and then replacing the cellophane and putting the Draino back,” Chen wrote.
Chen said as a result of the alleged poisoning he suffered from an inflamed esophagus, two stomach ulcers and gastritis. Police said he suffered “significant internal injuries” but was expected to recover.
Chen also accused his wife of 10 years of being verbally, physically and emotionally abusive to him and the couple’s two children.
“Emily would call me a ‘f---ing asshole’ and other insults,” he wrote in the statement, adding that his mother-in-law had also allegedly participated in the abuse.
Chen described his wife’s parenting style in his statement as “yelling, insulting, verbally abusing, hitting, pushing, pulling and being emotionally abusive.”
He described her using a Chinese phrase with the children that translates to “go die!” and said his wife had also told the couple’s children — ages 7 and 8 years-old — to “go f--- yourself” and has called them a “stupid a--hole.”
Yu’s defense attorney David Wohl denied the shocking allegations to Oxygen.com.
“She unequivocally and absolutely denies having attempted to poison her husband or anyone else,” he said. “She also completely denies the allegations he’s made regarding abusing him and her children in any way, shape or form.”
As for the video footage, Wohl said it doesn’t show what Chen has alleged.
“All I can tell you is the video does not depict her trying to poison her husband,” he said, declining to go into any further details.
Wohl also questioned the timing of the allegations, noting that they surfaced after Chen had filed from divorce from his wife.
“We’re concerned that the allegations — the false allegations — were made in an attempt to gain an advantage in the divorce case that he just filed against her several days ago,” Wohl said.
Chen is currently seeking full custody of the couple’s children. He was granted a temporary restraining order against his wife, and Yu was ordered to stay at least 100 feet from the couple’s children as the investigation continues.
Yu is a dermatologist affiliated with Providence Mission Hospital.
The hospital issued a statement, obtained by The Los Angeles Times, assuring patients that there was no threat to those in the community after her arrest.
“This incident is a domestic matter which occurred in Irvine, and we want to reassure out community that there has been no impact on our patients,” the hospital said.
Oxygen.com reached out to the hospital, but did not receive an immediate response.
