Liren Chen: 'Quiet' Google engineer admits to 'striking wife in head repeatedly' and killing her at $2M home

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A Google employee, Liren Chen, 27, has apparently confessed to fatally beating his wife, Xuangi Yu, with his fist in their $2 million Santa Clara, California, residence.

Chen was arrested on January 16 and is currently facing murder charges. Both of them were employed as software engineers at Google. 

During the investigation, law enforcement observed that Chen's hand was significantly swollen and purple, with blood present on his clothing, legs, arms, and hands.

When questioned by fire department personnel about how he injured his hand, Chen admitted, "I punched my wife," and mentioned that it occurred the day before, as per the records obtained by Daily Mail. 

Police found out about the incident after Liren Chen's friend called 911

One of Chen's friends, who hasn't been identified, had dinner with the couple the night before the gruesome incident took place. At the dinner, they had observed that Chen behaved "quiet and staring blankly for much of the evening." 

As per the court documents, they also talked to police about a "noticeable change in Chen’s demeanor."

Concerned, the friend returned to Chen's Santa Clara residence the following day, January 16, to check on him. Upon circling to the back of the house, he observed his friend through a rear window and found him motionless on his knees with his hands raised, staring blankly, as per Daily Mail. 

When the friend couldn't get him to respond, they promptly called 911. Upon arrival, officers noticed Chen had blood on his jacket and socks. 

After forcefully entering the house, they promptly took Chen into custody and found his wife, Yu, lying on the bedroom floor, exhibiting "severe blunt-force injuries" to her head. Blood splatters were discovered on the ground as well as on the back of the door. 

Officers noted that Chen's sandals, discovered in the hallway, were also splattered with blood. 

No weapon was retrieved from the scene, and as per the report, Chen used his bare hands to kill her, "striking her in the head repeatedly."

Neighbors expressed shock over the murder of Xuangi Yu

The couple's next-door neighbor, Jenny Powell, 43, expressed her astonishment about the incident, stating, "That’s my bedroom window right there, I’m shocked All this was happening and I had no idea."

Powell mentioned that Chen and his wife had only been living there since April 2023, along with a cat named Cooper. 

Initially, they appeared friendly, bringing her cookies and a card when they moved in. However, the couple mostly kept to themselves.

Upon learning about the homicide, her son referred to them as "the shut-ins next door." Powell added, "They weren’t here long and they didn’t interact with a lot of people." 

Another neighbor, Sylvia Atondo, mentioned, "They seemed friendly when we saw them, nothing out of the ordinary." 

She emphasized that the neighborhood is tightly-knit and prone to gossip, meaning any disputes among neighbors usually become a topic of conversation. However, in this instance, there were no signs of conflict, leaving the neighbors utterly surprised.