2nd Trial Under Way for Man Accused of Murdering Attorney Who Sued Him in Wrongful Death Case
A California software engineer is on trial for the second time, in the murder of a lawyer who was representing the family of his deceased wife in a wrongful death suit against him.
Jason Cai, 53, is charged with murder while lying in wait. Prosecutors contend he shot Xia Zhao on July 1, 2008 in the parking lot of her law office, the Mercury News reports.
A previous trial, in 2010, ended in a jury hung 11-1, in favor of conviction.
Cai was acquitted in 2006 of murdering his wife, who was found dead in 2003 in the family’s swimming pool. He had taken out $250,000 in life insurance not long before his wife died.
The government contends that a videotape posted by a resident in an effort to nab car vandals shows Cai running from the scene of Zhao’s death. However, his lawyer says he not only isn’t the man in the video but the video isn’t of the shooter.
“You may all feel my client may have done it or probably did it,” defense attorney J. Tony Serra told the jury in the Santa Clara County Superior Court case. “But the standard is ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ”
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Man Suspected of Killing Attorney in Wrongful Death Case Against Him”
ABAJournal.com: “Testimony: Slain in Law Office Parking Lot, Attorney Foresaw Her Fate But Stayed on Case”
