A man who works for Google has been arrested for killing his wife on January 16 at a home on Valley Way, Santa Clara, California. Liren Chen, 27, was found “staring blankly” into space with the dead body of his wife Xuanyi Yu, who was a Google engineer, nearby.
Chen was found kneeling outside a bedroom where Yu was “deceased on the floor.” He was found “spattered with blood’ with an “extremely swollen and purple arm.” Yu had “severe blunt force injuries to her head,” according to the Santa Clara District Attorney, the Daily Mail reported.
On January 16, police went to the house around 11 am following a welfare call. A friend of Chen told police that he was “concerned” about the couple and that Chen was “refusing to answer his phone or his door.” He added that he could see Chen inside the house, “motionless on his knees, had his hands in the air and was staring blankly.” The officers subsequently entered the house and arrested Chen.
According to the district attorney’s office, cops found Yu’s body in the bedroom “directly behind” where Chen had been standing. “Officers located the victim deceased on the floor. She had severe blunt force injuries to her head,” they said.
They added, “Chen’s right hand was extremely swollen and purple. He had blood on his clothing, legs, arms, and hands and scratches on his arm.”
Property records revealed that in April 2023, the couple bought a home at 714 Valley Way for $2.05 million.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen said there has been an increase in the number of 911 calls for domestic violence. “Domestic violence deaths have been falling in our county but that does not measure the depth and destructiveness of the violence,” he said. “Anyone who feels that they or someone else is being abused by their partners, please reach out your local law enforcement agency. You are not alone. We can help.”
Google spokesperson Bailey Tomson said in a statement to New York Post, “We are shocked and deeply saddened by what has happened to Xuanyi. Our thoughts are with her family at this time, and we will work to provide support to them and to co-workers who are processing this tragic news.
Chen’s LinkedIn profile says he worked on the YouTube shorts algorithm for Google, and Yu’s says she was a software engineer. Both studied in China at Tsinghua University and at the University of California San Diego.
