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The criminal case against a California doctor accused of poisoning her estranged husband with Drano is facing a major setback this week after prosecutors told a court they need to dismiss the charges because a key witness wouldn’t be available at trial, according to a new report.
They plan to refile the case, according to KCAL-TV, which first reported the dismissal.
Dr. Yue “Emily” Yu, a 48-year-old dermatologist from Irvine, California, was accused of spiking her then-husband’s tea and lemonade with drain cleaner for months in 2022.
CALIFORNIA DOCTOR SAYS HE CAUGHT WIFE DUMPING DRANO IN HIS LEMONADE AFTER HE RIGGED KITCHEN WITH CAMERAS
Dr. Yue Yu allegedly seen in this still image from video pouring a bottle of Drano in the kitchen she used to share with her then-husband Dr. Jack Chen. (Orange County Superior Court)
The victim is Dr. Jack Chen, a radiologist who said he suffered stomach ulcers and internal injuries between April and March of that year before he rigged his kitchen with surveillance cameras and recorded his wife pouring the chemical into drinking cups.
Dr. Chen even put a camera under the sink, where the family stored the Drano bottle. (Orange County Superior Court)
Yu’s lawyers have denied she was poisoning anyone and said she was looking to kill ants in the home — following a method suggested by her husband, Fox News Digital reported previously. They blamed his stomach problems on gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD.
DOCTOR WHO SAYS WIFE SPIKED TEA WITH DRANO SUFFERS FROM ACID REFLUX, NOT POISONING: LAWYER
California dermatologist Yue Yu was arrested last Thursday after being accused of poisoning her husband. (Irvine Police Department)
“They had a big ant problem in the kitchen,” attorney Scott Simmons said after an Orange County arraignment in 2023. “Jack Chen tells her to put the Drano into this lemonade or tea in order to bait and kill the ants. He then sets up what he calls ‘spy cameras’ to capture her pouring the Drano into the cup then falsely accuses her of trying to poison him.”
Chen filed for a divorce the same day he asked the judge to grant him the order of protection, according to his lawyer, Steven Hittleman. He also accused his wife and mother-in-law of domestic abuse and of isolating him from his children.
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David Wohl, one of Yu’s attorneys, has called Chen’s allegations “false” and said they are motivated by the divorce and custody battle.
“Ms. Emily Yu vehemently and unequivocally denies ever attempting to poison her husband or anyone else,” he told Fox News Digital after her arrest. “As a well-respected physician, her goal as always been to help people and never to harm people. Accordingly, she also strongly denies her husband’s claims of abusing him and their children emotionally and physically.”
Yu would face up to eight years in prison if convicted.