Criminal Justice

Man Suspected of Killing Attorney in Wrongful Death Case Against Him

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A California attorney who agreed to represent a family in a wrongful death case may now have been shot to death by the man accused in the civil action.

Jason Cai, 50, who is the defendant in the wrongful death claim, is suspected of killing attorney Xia Zhao outside her San Jose, Calif., law office yesterday, reports the Mercury News. “The slaying came after Cai allegedly stalked and threatened Zhao—frightening her so much that she sought a restraining order to keep him away, according to court documents,” the newspaper states.

A brother tells the newspaper that Zhao had feared Cai might harm her family, and warned them not to go outside, especially with her 2-year-old son.

Cai was acquitted by a jury in 2006 of murdering his wife, Ying Deng, whose body was found floating in a home swimming pool six weeks after they were married in 2003. It deadlocked on voluntary manslaughter, and her family subsequently filed the wrongful death suit.

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