Accused in murder motivated by greed: Lawyer
WEST VANCOUVER: Victim’s family issues statement showing concern over police response, investigation
A lawyer for the family of a West Vancouver man whose body was allegedly cut up after he was murdered claims that the man accused in the grisly slaying was motivated by financial greed.
In a nun usual press conference held Wednesday, Vancouver lawyer Chris Johnson also said that the family of Gang Yuan, 42, has concerns about the police response and investigation that resulted in second-degree murder charges being laid against Li Zhao.
Johnson read out a statement to reporters in which he said his client was by all accounts a “very successful and generous” businessman who had helped out the accused and his wife Xiao Mei Li, a cousin of the murder victim.
All three lived in the mansion at 963 King Georges Way, where Yuan’s body was allegedly cut up into 100 pieces by Zhao, who has also been charged with interfering with the remains of a body.
Johnson said that when Yuan arrived in Canada from China in 2007, Zhao and Li were struggling and he took them in and supported them and provided employment for them.
Johnson said within days of the murder, it came to the family’s attention that Xiao Mei Li was driving Yuan’s Bentley and the accused’s daughter, Yi Zhao, starred in a reality TV show called Ultra Rich Asian Girls in which she pretended to own Yuan’s assets, including an island, his Rolls-Royce and his Vancouver home at 3333 The Crescent.
“It’s extremely disturbing to Mr. Yuan’s family that the very people he supported and showed generosity to have shown the utmost disrespect.”
While the family appreciates the work of the Vancouver police, who are investigating the murder, they have some concerns, said Johnson.
He said delays in identifying the body and a requirement that the family had to go to the pathologist and get the accused’s dental records meant they had not been able to retrieve the body until very recently.
“As you can imagine, this has caused a great deal of unnecessary pain and stress,” said Johnson. “In addition, no autopsy report has been provided to the family, some 18 days after the death of Mr. Yuan. No explanation has been offered for this key delay.”
Johnson said the family was also concerned that police waited nine hours outside the West Vancouver home before arresting Zhao.
“They worry that this delay could have allowed the accused more than enough time to further dismember the body of Mr. Yuan and to destroy other evidence. Again, they’ve been offered no explanation. These are questions they’d like answers to.”
Johnson said the family just wants assurances that the police are doing everything they can to bring justice to the case.