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Thread: Pierre Haobsh Sentenced to LWOP in 2016 CA Triple Murder of Han Family

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    Pierre Haobsh Sentenced to LWOP in 2016 CA Triple Murder of Han Family


    Dr. Weidong Henry Han, 57, his 29-year-old wife Huijie Yu (AKA Jenny) and their 5-year-old daughter, Emily Han


    Suspect Arrested For Murdering Couple, Their 5-Year-Old Daughter In Santa Barbara

    SANTA BARBARA (CBSLA.com) — The Santa Barbara County Shefiff’s Department has announced an arrest for the triple homicide of a couple and their 5-year-old daughter inside their home.

    The residence is located in the 4600 block of Greenhill Way. Officials were dispatched to the home around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday for a welfare check. After entering the home, sheriff’s determined a search warrant was needed.

    The victims were identified as 57-year-old Dr. Weidong Henry Han, his 29-year-old wife Huijie Yu (AKA Jenny) and the couple’s 5-year-old daughter, Emily Han — a kindergartner at Foothill Elementary.

    Officials said all the victims had been shot to death. The victims were wrapped in plastic, duct-taped and found in the garage.

    During the course of their investigation, detectives developed information that pointed to a business acquaintance of Dr. Han’s as suspect. That person was identified as 27-year-old Pierre Haobsh of Oceanside.

    Haobsh was taken into custody around 12:30 a.m. Friday morning, officials said.

    They also said they recovered a loaded 9mm handgun in the suspect’s 2013 Lexus as well as property believed to have belonged to one of the victims.

    The suspect was transported to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s headquarters. He became ill, was transported to the hospital for examination and was medically cleared. He will be booked at the Santa Barbara County Jail on three counts of murder.

    Authorities said the investigation was “complex and on-going.”

    An official motive was not revealed but detectives are working on the theory the crime was committed for financial gain.

    Dr. Han had owned and operated the Santa Barbara Herb Clinic since 1991. His wife worked with him at the clinic. Their daughter would have turned 6 on Saturday.

    http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/...santa-barbara/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Cause of Death Determined in Goleta Murders

    edhat.com

    The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Coroner's Office has completed their autopsy investigation in the case of Dr. Weidong Han, his wife Huijie (aka Jennie) and their daughter Emily.The District Attorney has formally charged 26-year old Oceanside resident, Pierre Haobsh, for the murders of the Han family while the Sheriff's Coroner released the official cause of death.

    In all three cases the manner of death was determined to be homicide and the cause of death was gunshot wounds to the head.

    Haobsh is believed to have murdered the family of three last week in their Goleta home. He was later arrested in Oceanside.

    The Sheriff's Office is continuing their investigation and will not release further details at this time.

    Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce E. Dudley announced today that a felony complaint has been filed against Haobsh. He is charged with three counts of First Degree Murder, in violation of Penal Code section 187(a), with further allegations that the offense was Willful, Premeditated, and Deliberate, or Committed by Means of Lying in Wait, pursuant to Penal Code section 189. Haobsh is additionally charged with the special circumstances of committing the murders for Financial Gain, pursuant to Penal Code section 190.2(a)(1) and multiple murders, pursuant to Penal Code section 190.2(a)(3).

    Since this has been filed as a Special Circumstance Murder case, if the defendant is found guilty he could face the Death Penalty or Life Without Possibility of Parole; this decision will be made by the District Attorney at a later date, likely after the Preliminary Hearing.

    Read the formal complaint against Haobsh HERE.

    http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?nid=167743
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Inside the Han Family Murders

    The Investigation, and the Legacy of Dr. Henry Han

    By Lena Garcia and Nick Welsh
    Santa Barbara Independent

    Pierre Haobsh, 26, spoke only twice Tuesday in Judge Raimundo Montes De Oca’s courtroom. When asked whether he could hear from his position behind protective glass, he said, “Yes, I can.” When asked if, at prosecutors’ request, he agreed to postpone his arraignment by two weeks, he said, “Yes, I do.”

    Wearing a blue button-up shirt, a tie, and at times a half-smile, Haobsh’s tone didn’t betray that, early Friday morning, he was arrested at a San Diego County gas station and charged with three counts of first-degree murder for the brutal killings of well-known herbalist Dr. Weidong “Henry” Han, 57; his wife, Huijie “Jennie” Yu, 29; and the couple’s daughter, Emily Han, 5.

    On Wednesday evening, March 23, authorities discovered all three wrapped in clear plastic and duct taped in the garage of their 4640 Greenhill Way home near Goleta. Each had been shot multiple times, and their official cause of death was listed as “gunshot wounds to the head.”

    That morning, Henry Han had missed a Los Angeles business meeting and wasn’t answering phone calls, prompting two colleagues to visit his home. The colleagues found the front door ajar and Han and Yu’s cars parked in the garage; they called 9-1-1, and dispatchers requested the welfare check that led authorities to the crime scene.

    Surrounded by large gardens and situated on a seven-acre avocado ranch, the family’s hillside Mediterranean-style home is not visible from the main road below. Neighbors in the nearby Forte Ranch condominium community watched two and then 11 more law enforcement cars (among them forensics and Department of Justice criminalists) wind up the Hans’ driveway that evening. By 11:30 p.m., Sheriff’s detectives had launched a suspicious-death investigation, which led them to the San Diego suburb of Bonsall.

    Thirty-six hours later, detectives developed leads that implicated Pierre Haobsh, an Oceanside resident and a “business acquaintance” of Han, in the murders, which authorities say were motivated by “financial gain.” Haobsh “was recently involved in a business transaction with Mr. Han,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a Friday briefing. No other details were provided. On both Monday and Tuesday, Haobsh had reportedly walked into Han’s Santa Barbara Herb Clinic across from La Cumbre Plaza, bypassed the front desk, and said in a brusque, dismissive manner, “Henry knows who I am.” Han was last seen alive at 10 p.m. Tuesday night, and Yu and Emily at 7 p.m. that night, according to Brown.

    Around 12:25 a.m. Friday, Santa Barbara and Oceanside authorities spotted Haobsh driving a 2013 red Lexus sedan and followed him to a Bonsall gas station east of Oceanside. He was taken into custody at gunpoint without incident. In his possession was a loaded 9mm and property that detectives believe belonged to the Hans, said Brown.

    Until his arrest, American-born Pierre Haobsh lived with his French-born father, Frederick Smith, or Frederick Haobsh, in rented rooms of an Oceanside house. Not much is known about Frederick, but online searches show he founded the now-defunct oil company Cal Tech International Inc. and was an ex-CIA agent of Jordanian descent. The younger Haobsh left a scarce Internet trail (he had a Facebook page with one profile picture visible to the public).

    Nadine Courtney, a beauty blogger and former Newlyweds realityTV star, told the Associated Press via email Saturday that she is Haobsh’s sister. “Nadine came from a traditional Circassian-Middle Eastern family,” reads her online biography. In a 2008 blog post, Courtney said their mother, Nancy Berchtold Haobsh, 55, had died from lymphatic cancer. Neither Frederick Smith nor Courtney responded to questions from The Santa Barbara Independent.

    A March 25 KGTV San Diego newscast featured Oceanside neighbors, who remembered Haobsh as “off.” The night of Haobsh’s arrest, the suburban neighborhood saw authorities search his home with flashlights. Sheriff Brown called the “diabolical and premeditated crime” “one of the most odious that I have been involved in.”

    In the days after the Han family’s death, family, friends, and patients have piled flowers and notes outside the clinic and below police tape still blocking off their home. The Santa Barbara County Psychological Association has created a list of therapists offering free or reduced-cost sessions for anyone affected by the murders.

    A kindergartener at Foothill Elementary School, Emily would have turned 6 on March 26. Kathy Neely, who taught Emily for two years during preschool at the Waldorf School of Santa Barbara, remembers her as “strong-willed,” “courageous,” and having a “joyful personality.” “She loved to play,” Neely said. “I recall Emily’s love of serving me delicious ‘sand cupcakes’ she had prepared during outdoor play.” Neely recommended grieving families light a candle to honor Emily and her parents.

    Jennie, whom Neely remembers as “vivacious” like Emily, waitressed for two years at Saigon Noodle House about six years ago, said the restaurant’s manager, who preferred to be identified as David. He said Jennie would bring Emily every week to eat at his Hollister Avenue restaurant. “We are still best friends,” he said. Jennie worked at a number of other Asian food eateries around town. Most recently, she worked at the herb clinic.

    Santa Barbara prosecutors Hilary Dozer and Ben Ladinig, public defenders Christine Voss and Mindi Boulet, and Deputy County Counsel Michelle Montez ​— ​who represents the Sheriff’s Office ​— ​will return to court April 12.

    Haobsh’s arraignment was postponed due to Dozer, Ladinig, and Montez taking issue with the Public Defender’s Office having obtained a weekend order from Judge James Herman to meet with Haobsh in County Jail before he had requested an attorney.

    Charges filed against Haobsh name special circumstances ​— ​including premeditation, lying in wait, and murder for financial gain ​— ​which may make him eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without parole. District Attorney Joyce Dudley will make that decision at a later date.

    Henry Han: The Doctor

    When Henry Han was shot to death last week, nearly 200 patients suddenly found themselves without their doctor. For the past 30 years, Han ​— ​a skilled, quietly charismatic, and by all accounts brilliant herbal doctor ​— ​had treated roughly 13,000 people, many confronting serious health challenges such as cancer, osteoporosis, and hepatitis. For them, Han provided a one-two punch of psychological comfort and medical relief. “A lot of suffering patients will be without their Henry,” said Cathy McNease, an herbalist and acupuncturist who worked with Han in the early 1990s.

    Since Han set up shop in Santa Barbara in the 1980s, there was never anything the least bit “woo-woo” or New Age about the medicine he practiced. Unlike some herbalists and acupuncture practitioners who saw themselves as distinct from traditional Western medicine, he practiced an East-West blend of practices. Han graduated from medical school in Beijing, where he grew up. His mother was a talented ob-gyn, and his father was a dermatologist; medical practitioners went back in the Han family for many generations.

    Henry Han originally opened his clinic in the Lobero Building in downtown Santa Barbara and subsequently at its current location behind Chuck’s steak house on upper State Street. One of his first patients was Steve
    Carlson, then an administrator at UCSB, who was struggling with hepatitis A. His physician said nothing could be done. “You just have to wait it out,” Carlson recalls being told. Instead, he sought out Henry Han. “I saw results within a week,” he said. “Within two, the symptoms were all but gone.” Carlson was convinced. “I’ve used Henry as my primary care physician ever since.”

    Ann Louise Bardach, noted global journalist, said she visited Han in the 1990s to deal with intestinal issues born of her high-stress work. With the right mixture of herbal pills and a change of diet ​— ​“Han told me to eat lots of red meat and stay away from bread,” she recalled ​— ​Bardach found relief.

    Carlson and Han established a lasting friendship as well as medical relationship. They dined out every couple of months, often in the company of Paul Relis, cofounder of the Community Environmental Council. In fact, Han personally intervened to help Relis and his wife adopt a baby girl from China 19 years ago.

    As Carlson, Relis, and Bardach tell it, Han was about 12 when doctors, intellectuals, and professionals were rounded up as part of China’s now infamous Cultural Revolution. Han, his older sister, and his parents were exiled to a re-education camp in the rural outposts of western China. The stories vary, but according to Bardach, Han’s childhood was “unspeakable.” Carlson said Han was beaten routinely. Relis recalled Han telling him how his parents sneaked out late at night, armed only with flashlights and minimal medical equipment, to treat peasants living nearby. Han’s mother encountered high rates of ovarian cancer in the women she treated, becoming a pioneering expert in the disease.

    By the time Han was 18, the political winds shifted. Higher education no longer denoted a member of a parasitic class. Han graduated from medical school, and in the early 1980s he became aware that two post-graduate positions opened up at UCSB’s psychology department. Even though it wasn’t Han’s discipline, he crammed nonstop for two solid weeks, took the tests, and qualified for one of the openings.

    In response to the uprising of Tiananmen Square, Han reportedly signed a statement in support of the protestors. This put him sideways with Chinese authorities. As Carlson described it, “He went underground for a while. The Chinese government was after him.” At this time, Han worked in a rehabilitation center, treating Relis’s uncle who had suffered a stroke. His student visa expired. He married an American citizen, but the marriage didn’t last. There were no children, a source of significant friction.

    For a while, Han worked with an herbal practitioner named Jean Yu, owner of the Herb Clinic. In 1991, he bought out Yu, who moved to San Luis Obispo. As Carlson recalls, Han had patients from all over the country, especially in response to the AIDS epidemic. He worked four days a week, seeing about 15 patients a day. He did the one-on-one with the patients; his assistants mixed the herbal concoctions. In person, he radiated a calming clinical confidence. He didn’t get upset by excitable, agitated, difficult patients. To Han, it was all valuable information that could help with the diagnosis.

    Over time, Han’s practice grew. He bought a seven-acre spread with a gated driveway a quarter mile long. Han had grown concerned China’s intense pollution could prove deleterious to his plants and herbs. He’d hoped to grow his own on his own land. He moved his parents over from China, and they lived with him; his new wife, Jennie; and their daughter, Emily. Last year, both parents died, one two weeks after the other.

    In recent years, Han started branching out into new medical and business opportunities. Like many familiar with herbal cures, Han understood hemp plants contain psychoactively inert chemicals known as cannabidiols, or CBDs. There’s significant evidence to suggest CBDs have healing powers when it comes to tumors, seizures, psychosis, anxiety, and inflammation. CBD is also found in marijuana, but in hemp, the levels of THC ​— ​the compound that gets users stoned ​— ​are sufficiently low enough to be legal in the United States. According to Carlson, Han had been buying large quantities of hemp in China and shipping it to Burma, where it was processed into CBD-rich oils and other products.

    In addition, Han was intrigued by the prospect of deploying stem cells in the manufacture of skin-regenerating cosmetics. By injecting skin cells obtained through stem-cell harvesting into the cosmetics, Han believed it was possible to repair and replace damaged tissue. According to Carlson, this has long been “the Holy Grail” of the cosmetics industry. Han, he said, ran a lab in Los Angeles in hopes of catching this Holy Grail.

    Han pursued both these projects on Wednesdays, the one day of the week he did not work at the Herb Clinic. Last Wednesday, Hahn had an appointment to meet his partners in one of these ventures. When Han, normally precise and punctual, did not show, the partners grew concerned. It was at their instigation that authorities initiated the welfare check that led to the discovery of Han’s dead body and that of his wife and daughter.

    http://www.independent.com/news/2016...amily-murders/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Arraignment continued for man suspected in Goleta triple murder

    By Charlie Misra
    KSBY News

    The man accused of killing a family of three in the Goleta area last month appeared in Santa Barbara County Court on Tuesday for his arraignment.

    Pierre Haobsh, 27, from Oceanside, faces three counts of first degree murder in the deaths of Dr. Henry Han, Han's wife, Jennie, and their five-year old daughter, Emily.

    Haobsh did not enter a plea in court Tuesday.

    Judge Raimundo Montes de Oca continued Haobsh's arraignment to May 5 in Department 6, under a different judge, Jean Dandona.

    Legal counsel said more time was needed to review the case.

    According to the felony complaint against Haobsh, he shot each of the victims on March 23. The Santa Barbara County Coroner's report shows all three died of gunshot wounds to the head. Investigators reported finding their bodies wrapped in plastic and duct tape in the garage of their Goleta Valley home.

    The felony charges against Haobsh include allegations that the crime was premeditated and the murders were for financial gain.

    If convicted, Haobsh could face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. That decision will be made by the District Attorney at a later date.

    Haobsh is being held at the Santa Barbara County Jail without bail.

    http://www.ksby.com/story/31707363/a...-triple-murder
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Haobsh Denied Access to Public Defender

    Attorney Not Allowed in County Jail, Calls Block ‘Unprecedented’

    By Lena Garcia
    Santa Barbara Independent

    Pierre Haobsh, 26, appeared Tuesday behind the protective glass of Judge Raimundo Montes De Oca’s courtroom much as he did two weeks prior. The Oceanside resident kept a blank face despite facing three counts of first-degree murder for the gruesome shooting deaths of esteemed herbalist Dr. Weidong “Henry” Han, 57; his wife, Huijie “Jennie” Yu, 29; and their daughter, Emily Han, 5. In what could be a capital case, Haobsh’s arraignment was once again postponed to May 5 in Judge Jean Dandona’s Department 6.

    On Wednesday, March 23, the Han family was found wrapped in plastic and duct tape in the garage of their 4640 Greenhill Way home near Goleta. The Sheriff’s-Coroner named “gunshot wounds to the head” their official cause of death. On Friday, March 25, Haobsh ​— ​whom authorities call a “business acquaintance” of Dr. Han ​— ​was arrested at a Bonsall gas station, where he was found with a 9mm gun and property belonging to one of the Hans. Little is known of Haobsh, for whom no family members appeared Tuesday in court.

    Upon Haobsh’s arrest, public defenders immediately went to the Santa Barbara County Jail to offer him counsel. “We were turned away by multiple levels of Sheriff’s personnel and not allowed to even notify Mr. Haobsh that we were available to represent him,” Senior Deputy Public Defender Christine Voss told The Santa Barbara Independent via email. In what County Counsel and the District Attorney’s Office called “ex parte” and “completely unprecedented,” public defenders on Saturday, March 26, obtained court orders from Judge James Herman, granting them permission to speak with and represent Haobsh.

    “In my 20-plus years of experience, it is unprecedented to be denied lawful access to an inmate booked at a county jail,” said Voss. “Judge Herman’s order merely granted that lawful access.” Neither Haobsh nor his family requested a public defender, according to court papers filed March 29 by County Counsel Michael Ghizzoni and Deputy County Counsel Michelle Montez. “In fact, Mr. Haobsh waived his rights to silence and counsel,” they said. However, the declarations included in their legal filings didn’t quite substantiate that. Instead, Sheriff’s Office criminal investigator Jeffrey McDonald said, “Mr. Haobsh did not request an attorney nor did any family member request counsel on his behalf.”

    Debate on the matter ​— ​ruled moot Tuesday by Judge Montes De Oca ​— ​postponed Haobsh’s arraignment, as well as the fact that Voss and Deputy Public Defender Mindi Boulet only received “substantial discovery” the Friday before court. Typically, law enforcement reports are provided to defense attorneys within a few days of arraignment ​— not after a few weeks. Deputy District Attorneys Hilary Dozer and Benjamin Ladinig did not respond to questions about when they themselves received the reports.

    In the absence of any real information on the case, speculation has escalated. Many observers have called attention to Internet reports that 25 alternative doctors across the country died in the past year under mysterious circumstances. However, reports on those cases show the doctors belonged to disparate fields — like chiropracty, dentistry, and autism; 10 died on the southern seaboard (eight in Florida). Many prescribed controversial regimens. A handful were researching cancer treatments.

    http://www.independent.com/news/2016...blic-defender/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Goleta triple murder suspect enters not guilty plea

    By KSBY News Staff

    The man accused of killing a Santa Barbara-area doctor and his family entered a not guilty plea in a Santa Barbara courtroom on Thursday.

    Pierre Haobsh, 27, of Oceanside, is charged with three counts of first degree murder in the deaths of Dr. Henry Han, his wife, Jennie, and five-year old daughter, Emily. Investigators say they were found shot to death in the garage of their Goleta home back in March.

    The charges against Haobsh include further allegations that the crime was premeditated and that the murders were for financial gain.

    If convicted, Haobsh could face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    He is scheduled to return to court later in May to set a date for a preliminary hearing.

    http://www.ksby.com/story/31904758/g...ot-guilty-plea
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Haobsh Appears in Court

    Case Pushed to June

    By Lena Garcia
    Santa Barbara Independent

    Pierre Haobsh, who on March 25 was arrested for the Han family’s murder, returned to court for a hearing Tuesday morning, and he appeared for the first time in orange jail garb.

    Earlier this month, Haobsh, 26, pleaded not guilty to the shooting deaths of esteemed herbalist Dr. Weidong “Henry” Han, 57, his wife Huijie “Jennie” Yu, 29, and their daughter Emily Han, 5. The family was found wrapped in plastic and duct taped in the garage of their 4640 Greenhill Way home on March 23.

    In Judge Brian Hill’s courtroom on Tuesday, Haobsh spoke only to his attorney, deputy public defender Christine Voss. No facts of the case were shared, and no litigation took place between Voss and prosecutors Hillary Dozer and Ben Ladinig.

    Haobsh faces three counts of first-degree murder and an array of special circumstance allegations — among them premeditation, lying in wait, and murder for financial gain — making him eligible for the death penalty.

    The case returns to court on June 21, to accommodate “discovery that is trickling in,” said Voss.

    http://www.independent.com/news/2016...appears-court/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Han Family Murder Suspect Appears in Santa Barbara Court Tuesday

    SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The man charged with murdering a local doctor and his family was back in court Tuesday. This time, he was wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, thick glasses, and sporting a buzzcut.

    27-year-old Pierre F. Haobsh is charged with murdering Dr. Han, his wife and young daughter Emily. The family was found shot to death and wrapped in plastic in the garage of their Goleta Valley home. The March murders led to the arrest of business associate Pierre Haobsh, who is scheduled to be in court Tuesday at 10 a.m. for a preliminary hearing.

    A loaded handgun and property belonging to one of the victims was reportedly found inside of Haobsh's car. Haobsh is also charged with special circumstances of committing the murders for financial gain. The Santa Barbara County District Attorney's office has not decided whether they will seek the death penalty.

    The visibly slim 27-year-old sat silent as attorneys agreed on a continued preliminary setting for September 27 citing recent "substantial discoveries." The only time the court heard Haobsh's voice was when he responded to a question from the judge with "yes, your honor."

    Reporter Vicky Nguyen spoke with Haobsh's attorney Christine Voss, who declined to discuss how Haobsh is coping with incarceration. Voss did say, however, she has a lot of documents to review regarding this case. This case is still in its early stages.

    http://www.keyt.com/news/han-family-...esday/41115418
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Han family murder suspect sent letter to DA after alleged crimes

    By Vicki Nguyen
    KEYT News

    SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The San Diego County man charged with murder a local doctor and his family was back in court Tuesday. Pierre Haobsh was wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and thick glasses.

    The 27-year-old's attorney, Christine Voss, denied NewsChannel 3's request to film and record inside of the courtroom.

    Haobsh is charged with murdering Dr. Henry Han, his wife Jenny and 5-year-old daughter Emily inside their Goleta Valley home in March.

    When Haobsh was arrested, officers reportedly found a loaded handgun and property belonging to one of the victims inside of his car. Haobsh is also charged with special circumstances of committing the murders for financial gain.

    In court on Tuesday, Haobsh attorney and the district attorney agreed to tentatively schedule a preliminary hearing in January and February. Reporter Vicky Nguyen spoke with Deputy District Attorney Ben Ladinig, who said additional records and materials about the case is still coming in.

    Ladinig turned over a letter written by Haobsh to the judge. Ladinig said the letter was dated August 2016, months after the alleged crimes, and addressed to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.

    Ladinig could not comment on what was included in the letter.

    http://www.keyt.com/news/crime/han-f...imes/198716917
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Han Murder Trial Gets Off to Sordid Start

    Crime Details Emerge During Preliminary Hearing

    By Nick Welsh
    Santa Barbara Independent

    The prosecution wasted little time getting to the point in the preliminary hearing for Pierre Haobsh, who is charged with murdering Chinese herbalist Dr. Henry Han, his wife, Jennie Yu, and their 5-year-old daughter, Emily, in their Goleta home on March 23, 2016.

    According to Santa Barbara County’s Sheriff’s Detective Jeffrey McDonald, on the night of the killing, Haobsh confessed to a Thousand Oaks associate named T.J. Direda that he had killed the Han family; Haobsh had been unsuccessfully trying to enlist Direda’s assistance in disposing of the three bodies.

    Direda contacted law enforcement officers on March 25, notifying deputies with the Sheriff’s Office that he’d been contacted by Haobsh and the gist of the call. Detectives interviewed Direda the following day.

    According to McDonald, Haobsh first texted Direda and then showed up at his Thousand Oaks home an hour later. “He said he needed assistance, that he had just killed three people and needed help getting rid of the bodies,” McDonald recounted under direct questioning by prosecutor Hilary Dozer.

    McDonald testified that Haobsh explained he had killed Han for $20 million he believed Han possessed and that he had access to Han’s bank account via his cell phone. McDonald also testified that Haobsh described to Direda how he’d wrapped the three bodies up in plastic sheets, taped with duct tape, after shooting the victims.

    After putting two of the wrapped-up bodies in the trunk of his car, Haobsh told Direda, he discovered there wasn’t enough space to fit the third. That’s when he contacted Direda, who was growing marijuana and had been involved in the pornography business, as a cross-examination by Haobsh’s defense attorney, Mindy Boulet of the Public Defender’s office, revealed.

    As Boulet sought to pursue this line of questioning, prosecutor Dozer objected, arguing there was no relevance to the information being sought. Boulet said she wanted to show Direda’s involvement in “organized crime.” Judge Brian Hill sustained Dozer’s objections and did not allow Boulet to proceed.

    After Haobsh left Direda’s residence, McDonald testified Haobsh texted Direda first at 3:57 in the afternoon and later at 7:35 in the evening. In the first text, Haobsh invited Direda to Vegas. “Care to come to Vegas tonight?” he asked. “I’ll pay.” The second text was made shortly after Haobsh had returned to the Han home to dispose of the bodies. By then the bodies had been discovered, and there was an abundance of law enforcement. “Am screwed,” the text read. “They just found everything. My life’s over.”

    McDonald had also testified that Direda explained he initially thought Haobsh was joking and that he’d played along. Only two days later, after his mother notified him of media reports that Han had been murdered, did he take Haobsh’s claims seriously.

    McDonald testified that key details of the crime had been kept from circulation intentionally. That way, no one but the killer would have access to key details. The import of McDonald’s testimony was that nobody but Haobsh knew where the bodies had been left — in Han’s garage — that they’d been shot, and that they’d been tied up with plastic and duct tape.

    Defense attorney Boulet sought to attack the confession a couple of ways. First, she noted that Ron Goldberg and an associate had been at the Han household when Sheriffs’ deputies first discovered the bodies. It was Goldberg, in fact, who had first asked the Sheriffs to conduct a “suspicious circumstance welfare check,” because Han had missed a business meeting earlier in the day. That, according to testimony, struck Goldberg as highly unusual for Han.

    During the cross-examination of Det. McDonald, Boulet established that Direda and Goldberg had some sort of association, though the nature of that relationship wasn’t clear. Goldberg was the last person to see Dr. Han alive, having eaten dinner with him the night he was killed. Boulet’s line of questioning was designed to suggest Direda could have learned details of the killing from Goldberg, reportedly a longtime friend and business associate of Han’s, not necessarily from Haobsh.

    Boulet underscored with her questions the length of time it took Direda to notify law enforcement officials of Haobsh’s claims. That coupled with Direda’s involvement in the marijuana business — Boulet suggested he was growing pot for Dr. Han, but Det. McDonald said he’d never been told that — suggests at least one line of the defense’s attack.

    McDonald also testified he never determined if Dr. Han had the $20 million that Direda claimed Haobsh told him he hoped to get.

    District Attorney Joyce Dudley has never sought the death penalty in any prosecution during her term in office. Typically, that determination isn’t made until after the preliminary hearing has concluded. No such determination has been made yet in the Haobsh case either, but prosecutor Dozer gave a hint that this might be the first.

    As a procedural matter, in death penalty cases, court transcripts of the proceedings must be provided on a daily basis. That’s not required when the death penalty is not sought.

    Prosecuting attorney Dozer asked Judge Hill to order daily transcripts. Judge Hill said he would review the case law before issuing any ruling. If the law requires, Hill said, he’d comply. If not, he wouldn’t.

    http://www.independent.com/news/2017...-sordid-start/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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