Trial begins for the guy who murdered a fellow HAN member almost two years ago
09-08-2003, 12:47 PM
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Trial begins for the guy who murdered a fellow HAN member almost two years ago
Neighbor stabbing goes to trial
The 2001 killing of a Laguna Hills teen was spurred by racism, prosecutors say, but the defense says the attacker is mentally ill.
By RACHANEE SRISAVASDI
The Orange County Register
Kenny Chiu and Christopher Hearn grew up next door to each other, playing video games, street hockey and basketball.
They drifted apart as they became teenagers but remained on good terms.
There was no indication that Hearn, who was born deaf and doesn't speak, could have nursed a deep, racist hatred for his neighbor.
Hearn, 22, is accused of fatally stabbing Chiu, a 17-year-old Taiwanese-American, the night of July 30, 2001, outside their Laguna Hills homes.
Moments before he died, Chiu identified Hearn as his attacker.
Police say Hearn admitted to the killing in an hourlong interview, interpreted through sign language. Accusers say he also said he disliked Chinese and blacks and that he was "proud I acted like a Marine, like a KKK person."
The trial, which begins today, is being closely watched by many Asian-Americans in Orange County. Chiu's death evoked an outpouring from Asian-Americans, dozens of whom attended his funeral. The incident also prompted several Asian-American groups to host a seminar on hate crimes.
Hearn, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder, with two special circumstances of lying in wait and killing because of ethnicity.
His defense attorney says Hearn is mentally ill and requires hospitalization instead of prison time.
Deputy Public Defender Lisa Kopelman has also asked Orange County Superior Court Judge Kazuharu Makino to throw out Hearn's confession, saying Hearn didn't understand a sign-language interpretation of his Miranda rights. Makino is expected to rule on the motion today, before the start of the trial.
The attack
In his interview through a sign-language interpreter, police say, Hearn recounted how and why he killed Chiu.
Hearn said he was outside when he grabbed a large knife from his truck. Then he asked Chiu, who was nearby with a friend, for a cigarette.
Hearn motioned for Chiu to follow him to his back yard, where the two finished their cigarettes.
As Chiu, who was about 5-foot-6, 130 pounds, turned to leave, Hearn tapped him on the shoulder. Chiu turned around, and the 220-pound, 6-foot Hearn stabbed him.
Chiu fled, but ended up stumbling a few feet away from his home, where Hearn finished the attack.
Chiu was found by his father, Christopher.
"I saw him, and I say 'Kenny, Kenny, it's Daddy, I'll call 911, it's going to be OK,' " Christopher Chiu said last week.
"He said, 'It's not OK.' Those were his last words. His last words to me," the father said, his voice cracking.
Police say Hearn later said he hated seeing Chiu and that he didn't like Chinese or black people.
Court records show investigators found neo-Nazi material in Hearn's bedroom.
Community shocked
Christopher Chiu, 54, emigrated here with his wife, Minnie, from Taiwan in 1976, and started a hotel business, which now owns and operates nine hotels in California.
Kenny Chiu, who was going to be a senior at Laguna Hills High School and had played varsity golf, wanted tostudy law, then work in the family business, his father said.
Chiu and Hearn never had any problems or fights, Christopher Chiu said. But in 2000, someone had scrawled a racial slur against Asians on Christopher Chiu's Lexus sport utility vehicle.
Police do not know who vandalized the car.
The Chius, who had lived next door to the Hearns for 10 years, sold the house a little more than a month after Chiu's death and moved to Irvine.
Henry Yee, president of the Chinese American Citizen's Alliance of Orange County, accompanied the Chiu family to a court hearing last week.
"This shocked the Asian community, that this can occur in our society," Yee said. "We are looking for a conviction and for justice. We don't want this kind of crime to occur again in Orange County."
The Defense
Hearn, who graduated from a program for deaf students at University High School in Irvine, has no criminal record. But in 2000, Hearn had what Kopelman called a "psychotic break."
He walked through a large glass window at his home and had to be restrained by several police officers, who took Hearn to a hospital where he was kept under watch for 72 hours.
Last week, McCay Vernon, a psychologist called by the defense, testified that Hearn has schizophrenia.
Hearn, who is taking two psychiatric medications, watched a sign-language interpreter intently as she translated court proceedings. At times he looked confused, signing questions to the interpreter during testimony.
His father, Christopher Hearn, and other family members watched from the front row. The father and son smiled at each other during breaks, and signed to each other.
"What he did was a terrible thing," the father said of the attack. He added: "He's mentally ill. He has a history of mental illness."
Christopher Chiu plans to attend the entire trial, which is expected to last two weeks. His wife, though, has decided not to attend the proceedings, saying it would be too difficult for her, Chiu said.
He sat quietly in court last week, at times looking up legal terms in a red Chinese dictionary.
Christopher Chiu said the defendant's father walked up to him and apologized.
Chiu just nodded.
"What could I say?" said Chiu, looking tired. "They suffer too. In this case, there is no winner."
Here's the asshole who took his life:
The 2001 killing of a Laguna Hills teen was spurred by racism, prosecutors say, but the defense says the attacker is mentally ill.
By RACHANEE SRISAVASDI
The Orange County Register
Kenny Chiu and Christopher Hearn grew up next door to each other, playing video games, street hockey and basketball.
They drifted apart as they became teenagers but remained on good terms.
There was no indication that Hearn, who was born deaf and doesn't speak, could have nursed a deep, racist hatred for his neighbor.
Hearn, 22, is accused of fatally stabbing Chiu, a 17-year-old Taiwanese-American, the night of July 30, 2001, outside their Laguna Hills homes.
Moments before he died, Chiu identified Hearn as his attacker.
Police say Hearn admitted to the killing in an hourlong interview, interpreted through sign language. Accusers say he also said he disliked Chinese and blacks and that he was "proud I acted like a Marine, like a KKK person."
The trial, which begins today, is being closely watched by many Asian-Americans in Orange County. Chiu's death evoked an outpouring from Asian-Americans, dozens of whom attended his funeral. The incident also prompted several Asian-American groups to host a seminar on hate crimes.
Hearn, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder, with two special circumstances of lying in wait and killing because of ethnicity.
His defense attorney says Hearn is mentally ill and requires hospitalization instead of prison time.
Deputy Public Defender Lisa Kopelman has also asked Orange County Superior Court Judge Kazuharu Makino to throw out Hearn's confession, saying Hearn didn't understand a sign-language interpretation of his Miranda rights. Makino is expected to rule on the motion today, before the start of the trial.
The attack
In his interview through a sign-language interpreter, police say, Hearn recounted how and why he killed Chiu.
Hearn said he was outside when he grabbed a large knife from his truck. Then he asked Chiu, who was nearby with a friend, for a cigarette.
Hearn motioned for Chiu to follow him to his back yard, where the two finished their cigarettes.
As Chiu, who was about 5-foot-6, 130 pounds, turned to leave, Hearn tapped him on the shoulder. Chiu turned around, and the 220-pound, 6-foot Hearn stabbed him.
Chiu fled, but ended up stumbling a few feet away from his home, where Hearn finished the attack.
Chiu was found by his father, Christopher.
"I saw him, and I say 'Kenny, Kenny, it's Daddy, I'll call 911, it's going to be OK,' " Christopher Chiu said last week.
"He said, 'It's not OK.' Those were his last words. His last words to me," the father said, his voice cracking.
Police say Hearn later said he hated seeing Chiu and that he didn't like Chinese or black people.
Court records show investigators found neo-Nazi material in Hearn's bedroom.
Community shocked
Christopher Chiu, 54, emigrated here with his wife, Minnie, from Taiwan in 1976, and started a hotel business, which now owns and operates nine hotels in California.
Kenny Chiu, who was going to be a senior at Laguna Hills High School and had played varsity golf, wanted tostudy law, then work in the family business, his father said.
Chiu and Hearn never had any problems or fights, Christopher Chiu said. But in 2000, someone had scrawled a racial slur against Asians on Christopher Chiu's Lexus sport utility vehicle.
Police do not know who vandalized the car.
The Chius, who had lived next door to the Hearns for 10 years, sold the house a little more than a month after Chiu's death and moved to Irvine.
Henry Yee, president of the Chinese American Citizen's Alliance of Orange County, accompanied the Chiu family to a court hearing last week.
"This shocked the Asian community, that this can occur in our society," Yee said. "We are looking for a conviction and for justice. We don't want this kind of crime to occur again in Orange County."
The Defense
Hearn, who graduated from a program for deaf students at University High School in Irvine, has no criminal record. But in 2000, Hearn had what Kopelman called a "psychotic break."
He walked through a large glass window at his home and had to be restrained by several police officers, who took Hearn to a hospital where he was kept under watch for 72 hours.
Last week, McCay Vernon, a psychologist called by the defense, testified that Hearn has schizophrenia.
Hearn, who is taking two psychiatric medications, watched a sign-language interpreter intently as she translated court proceedings. At times he looked confused, signing questions to the interpreter during testimony.
His father, Christopher Hearn, and other family members watched from the front row. The father and son smiled at each other during breaks, and signed to each other.
"What he did was a terrible thing," the father said of the attack. He added: "He's mentally ill. He has a history of mental illness."
Christopher Chiu plans to attend the entire trial, which is expected to last two weeks. His wife, though, has decided not to attend the proceedings, saying it would be too difficult for her, Chiu said.
He sat quietly in court last week, at times looking up legal terms in a red Chinese dictionary.
Christopher Chiu said the defendant's father walked up to him and apologized.
Chiu just nodded.
"What could I say?" said Chiu, looking tired. "They suffer too. In this case, there is no winner."
Here's the asshole who took his life:
09-08-2003, 12:51 PM
#4
un-Touch'd krew
Fry that bastard!
I hope someone shoves a knife up his ass in prison and watches him bleed to death.
He took a good person from us and if you had ever met Kenny you would know why I feel this way.
Fawk that asshole racist bastard:madfawk:
I hope someone shoves a knife up his ass in prison and watches him bleed to death.
He took a good person from us and if you had ever met Kenny you would know why I feel this way.
Fawk that asshole racist bastard:madfawk:
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09-08-2003, 12:55 PM
#5
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Originally posted by Nightshade
Fry that bastard!
I hope someone shoves a knife up his ass in prison and watches him bleed to death.
He took a good person from us and if you had ever met Kenny you would know why I feel this way.
Fawk that asshole racist bastard:madfawk:
Fry that bastard!
I hope someone shoves a knife up his ass in prison and watches him bleed to death.
He took a good person from us and if you had ever met Kenny you would know why I feel this way.
Fawk that asshole racist bastard:madfawk:
The defense is going to probably try insanity crap but I say it's first degree.
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Originally Posted by WiLL
...I really wanna get out and shoot people.
09-08-2003, 12:59 PM
#6
you motorboatin' s.o.b.
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Originally posted by DakarM
The defense is going to probably try insanity crap but I say it's first degree.
The defense is going to probably try insanity crap but I say it's first degree.
09-08-2003, 01:05 PM
#8
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it's first degree.....no doubt...that fat idiot grabbed the knife from his truck first and had it on him.......he should get life....screw the insanity plea....
