DIAMOND BAR >> Authorities offered $30,000 in reward money Wednesday for information in the mysterious and brutal stabbing deaths of a retired couple last October during an apparent robbery at their Diamond Bar home.
Chen “David” Long Wang, 60, and Mei “Marian” Chu Chung, 57, were discovered stabbed to death on the morning of Oct. 20 at their house in the 3300 block of Bent Twig Lane.
The slaying was believed to have taken place the previous night, investigators said. The bodies were discovered when a family friend went to check on the couple after they had not been heard from for a while.
“They were savagely attacked. It as a very brutal, violent altercation,” Capt. Steve Katz of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau said.
And while the motive in the attack was unknown in the initial stages of the investigation, detectives now believe the killings took place during the course of a robbery, the captain said.
Between $10,000 and $15,000 in cash that was hidden inside the victims’ home was believed to have been stolen, according to Katz. The money was hidden in such a way that it appeared the killer or killers may have known where to look for it, and detectives were looking into the possibility the attacker or attackers may have had prior knowledge that the cash was there.
Authorities and the victims’ family reached out to the public on Wednesday to call on anyone with information to come forward and offer a $30,000 incentive to do so.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn announced that the Board of Supervisors approved a $20,000 reward she had requested for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.
Diamond Bar city officials increased the reward, adding another $10,000, officials said.
In addition to imploring any potential witnesses to come forward, Hahn offered a warning to the perpetrator or perpetrators: “We will ultimately find you. We will bring you to justice.”
Wang and Chung were well-known and well-liked in the community and their senseless slaying shocked the community, according to Hahn and Sheriff Jim McDonnell said.
McDonnell described them as “A classic example of an American success story.”
They’d lived in Diamond Bar for 16 years after immigrating to the U.S. from Taiwan in 2000, the sheriff said. They had since endeared themselves to their neighbors through their passions for art and community service.
Wang was a retired computer programmer and Chung was a retired teacher and art instructor.
The couple ran an art studio out of their home, teaching painting and other arts to local children.
They are survived by a son and a daughter, who are both doctors, as well as grandchildren.
Their son, Dr. Gary Wang, shared memories of his parents and encouraged anyone with information to do the right thing.
“My parents were educators. They touched the lives of many children and their parents by creating something beautiful,” he said. “They were taken away from my life so suddenly and so brutally by burglars. They don’t deserve a death like this. “
“I’m, imploring you, please, if you hear something or know something, please come to the police station,” Gary Wang said. “I’m not asking much. I’m just asking for some justice for my parents.”+
Anyone with information is urged to contact the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
PHOTOS: [ABOVE] Right to left: LASD Homicide Bureau Capt. Steve Katz, L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, Dr. Gary Wang, L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonnell and LASD Walnut Station Capt. Alfred Reyes gather to announce a $30,000 reward for information in connection with the Oct. 19, 2016, stabbing deaths of a retired couple in their Diamond Bar home. (staff) [BELOW] Chen “David” Long Wang, 60, and Mei “Marian” Chu Chung, 57. (courtesy)
