An NYPD cop who used her service weapon in a “ferocious act of anger” to shoot her ex-girlfriend and kill the young woman’s new love interest will spend 27 years behind bars.
Yvonne Wu, 34, was off duty on Oct. 13, 2021, when she entered the Bensonhurst apartment of her ex, Jenny Li, and opened fire. She killed Li’s new flame, Jamie Liang, 24, and shot Li in the chest, hitting her lungs and arteries.
As her voice cracked with emotion, Li, 26, spoke at Wu’s sentencing in Brooklyn Supreme Court Wednesday, describing the fateful day as “a terror that I will never be able to overcome.”
Li recalled Wu boasting as she carried out the shootings that she would end up getting a light sentence.
“The moment was a living nightmare, having to watch a life being taken in front of my eyes and being able to do nothing about it,” Li said. “I felt helpless. I was left lying in a pool of my own blood, losing consciousness, thinking about both lives and how they were over, as the defendant showed no remorse, making statements about receiving a light sentence.”
Love Triangle
Jeff Bachner/for New York Daily News NYPD officers and detectives gathered in the aftermath of a fatal shooting at 19th Ave. and 79th St. in Bensonhurst.
Li said she had to re-learn how to walk, sit up, and go to the bathroom and her days since then have been filled with loss, anxiety and grief.
“Jamie, who is someone who had a whole life ahead of her, a wonderful daughter, and the most caring friend, has been taken — a decision that was no one’s to make,” Li said. “Jamie was funny, kind and a ray of sunshine. ”
Wu entered Li’s home at 19th Ave. and 79th St. through an unlocked back door and fired six bullets from her police-issued Glock 19 when Li and Liang came home.
When one of the victims called 911, the operator could hear someone in the background saying, “That’s what you get,” sources told the Daily News.
“I shot them both,” Wu told cops at the scene, according to sources. “The gun’s inside. You can take me in.”
In the weeks prior to the shooting Wu got into an argument with Li and Liang at least once, The News previously reported.
COPSHOOT
Obtained by New York Daily News Victim Jamie Liang with mother Kwee Nian and father Ying Liang.
Liang’s father, Ying Cai Liang, described his daughter in court Wednesday as “genuine, kind, caring, and the most selfless person you would ever meet.”
“If it weren’t for this monster of this murder she would have graduated from NYU Dentistry a few months ago. She would be a dentist by now and making a difference in people’s lives,” he said. ‘This cold-blooded monster took our little girl, took our little angel. The murderer is a police officer who is supposed to protect and serve.”
He added, “She took a part of us away as well. She took away our pride, our hope and our joy. She left permanent scars in our hearts; our lives will never be the same…. We no longer dream or plan. We live only one day at a time.”
Wu, who was initially charged with murder, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and attempted murder in June, and has been fired from the NYPD.
COPSHOOT
Barry Williams/for New York Daily News The parents of Jamie Laing, Ying Liang, father, and Kwee Nian. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)
“Her actions on Oct. 13, 2021 were a ferocious act of anger and left a young woman dead and Jenny Li damaged and scarred for the rest of her life,” said Jessica Cepriano of the Attorney General’s office, which prosecuted the case. “Her actions also unnerve the faith and confidence that the community should have for the honorable members of law enforcement.”
Wu’s sentence — 22 years for the manslaughter charge and five more for attempted murder, to run consecutively — was negotiated as part of her plea deal between the A.G.’s office and defense lawyer Lawrence Fredella.
Wearing an olive green jail jumpsuit and a black face mask, Wu stood with her hands cuffed behind her back as she apologized Wednesday. She’s been locked up since her arrest.
“I want to say I’m sorry to everyone who’s been affected,” she said. “I’m so sorry. You guys will never forgive me and I’ll never forgive myself.”
Love Triangle
Supreme Court Judge Danny Chun, who handed down the sentence, said the top count against her, murder, carried a possibility of 20 years to life in prison and he initially didn’t want to take the prospect of life off the table in a plea deal. But as part of the negotiations he had to consider the trauma of Li recounting her experience on the stand at trial.
“To avoid more pain for everybody involved I accepted the plea deal that both parties did negotiate,” Chun said.
The Li and Liang families have sued the city for $25 million alleging the NYPD was aware Wu was emotionally distressed but allowed her to keep her service weapon prior to the shootings. Their lawsuit is still pending in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
Liang’s parents hugged family and friends outside the courtroom after the sentencing.
When asked what it was like to see Wu at the sentencing, Li said, “Traumatizing, honestly.”
