A dermatologist in Southern California has been arrested for allegedly poisoning her husband with Drano after the man set up a hidden camera to confirm his fears, police said.
According to the Irvine Police Department, Dr. Yue Yu, who also goes by Emily, was taken into custody on Aug. 4 after her husband turned over footage to the police that showed his wife allegedly spiking his drinks with the dangerous household chemical.
Dr. Jack Chen’s lawyer, Steven Hittelman, confirmed the videos to CBS Los Angeles.
“She takes up the bottle, she pours it in, puts the cap back on and puts it back under the sink as though nothing else was happening in her day,” he told the outlet.
Dr. Yue Yu seen in a screengrab from video opening a bottle of Drano in the kitchen.
Orange County Superior Court via CBS
According to CBS, court documents contain what authorities and Hittelman say are screenshots from the videos taken in the couple’s kitchen.
In a press release, Irvine police said Chen had fallen sick over the course of a month and was suspicious that his illness was somehow connected to his wife.
He set up a camera and claims he caught footage of her adding drain cleaner to his glass on July 11, 18 and 25.
This photo provided by the Irvine Police Department shows 45-year-old Yue Yu who was arrested late Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022, for poisoning her husband. Police in the Orange County city of Irvine, Calif., say a man reported he believed he was being poisoned by his wife of 10 years after he grew ill over the course of a month.
Irvine Police Department via The Associated Press
“He started to have unusual symptoms back in March and April,” Hittelman told CBS. “He went in to get checked by a doctor and found that he had had physical effects. He started to then connect the dots.”
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Irvine police Lt. Bill Bingham told the New York Post that Chen sustained “significant internal injuries,” but is expected to recover.
He also assured Yu’s patients that they are not at risk, calling it a “domestic-related incident.”
Dr. Yue Yu seen in a screengrab from video opening a bottle of Drano in the kitchen.
Orange County Superior Court via CBS
According to police, Yu and Chen have been married for 10 years and have two children. They are still determining a motive for the alleged poisoning.
“Ms. Yu absolutely and unequivocally denies trying to poison her husband or anyone else,” her lawyer, David Wohl, told the New York Post on Monday.
Yu appears to be a specialist in dermatology and is affiliated with Providence Mission Hospital, which issued a statement to news outlets saying they were aware of the arrest and cooperating with police.
“This incident is a domestic matter which occurred in Irvine, and we want to reassure our community that there has been no impact on our patients,” the hospital said.
By Sunday, her biography was removed from the hospital’s websites, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Chen applied for a restraining order last week, confirms Fox News, and has also filed for divorce. He is seeking sole custody of the couple’s children.
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