Dermatologist arrested, charged with poisoning husband after he caught her on camera

A woman from Irvine, California has been arrested for allegedly poisoning her husband of ten years, according to a statement released by the Irvine Police Department (IPD).

The IPD received a report from the man on August 4 that he suspected his wife was poisoning him after being ill for at least a month, and handed over video evidence he claimed shows her in the act of the crime, the IPD statement says.

The chemical taste in his mouth plagued Dr. Jack Chen, and after being diagnosed with stomach ulcers, gastritis and inflammation of the esophagus, his suspicions towards his wife led him to set up cameras in their kitchen, CBS reports.

What the footage revealed disturbed both Chen and the detectives to whom he handed over the videos, dated July 11, 18, and 25, CBS says. Investigators acted quickly to apprehend Yu outside of her dermatology office in Mission Veijo on August 4 at around 6 p.m., according to CBS.

The wife, 45-year-old dermatologist Yue Yu, has been arrested and booked at the Orange County Jail after police executed a search warrant on the couple’s home and interviewed her, the IPD statement says.

Yue YuIrvine Police Department

“The allegations that were made by the husband was incredibly serious and we thought it was important to take quick investigative action on the case based on the allegation,” Lt. Bill Bingham with the IPD told the Daily Mail.

In screenshots of the footage obtained by CBS, Yu is seen in her kitchen with a bottle of Drano and appears to pour some into a glass.

“She takes up the bottle, she pours it in, puts the cap back on and puts it back under the sink as though nothing else was happening in her day,” Chen’s lawyer, Steven Hittelman, told CBS.

Chen has filed for both a restraining order and a divorce against his wife, accusing Yu (who also uses the name Emily) of longtime physical, emotional, and verbal abuse against their two children, CBS says.

“If our children let Emily know that they enjoyed spending time with me, or showed affection toward me, then Emily would put them in their room and yell at them until they assured her they would not show affection toward me,” Chen said in the restraining order request, according to CBS.

Bingham told the Daily Mail that Yu has been charged “under a section of California law that alleges she woefully placed a poison or harmful substance in food, drink, medicine or pharmaceutical product.”

However, Bingham also told the Daily Mail that he couldn’t confirm whether blood tests revealed which poison was present in Chen’s body, adding that it appeared “the poisoning happened over a period of time.”

No motive has been found so far, Bingham said, calling this “a highly unusual and unique case”, according to the Daily Mail. He confirmed the crime isn’t connected to Yu’s place of employment, the Daily Mail reports.

Chen and Yu lived together in a $2.7 million mansion in Irvine, the Daily Mail reveals.

The IPD statement says that Chen sustained severe internal injuries but is expected to recover.