Dermatologist whose husband filmed her ‘trying to poison him’ insists she was cleaning drains
Yue Emily Yu’s attorney claims Jack Chen is fabricating lies to gain custody of their children
A Southern California woman who was filmed by her husband allegedly spiking his lemonade has said she was pouring the cleaning chemical into an empty cup to unclog pipes, according to her lawyer.
Yue Emily Yu, a 45-year-old dermatologist, was arrested on 4 August on suspicion of poisoning her radiologist husband, Jack Chen, multiple times.
Mr Chen captured three videos on a “nanny cam” in July after growing suspicious of his wife when he started feeling “seriously ill”.
In screengrabs of footage submitted to court, Ms Yu is seen holding a large red plastic bottle of Drano brand drain cleaner and purportedly pouring it into a cup. In another photo, Mr Chen can be seen drinking from a cup.
Ms Yu’s attorney David Wohl has denied the allegations, branding them “completely absurd and untrue”.
He claimed she was using Drano for plumbing issues in the kitchen and wanted to pour the drain cleaner into the clogged pipes.
“The idea that my client, who is a 45-year-old well-respected dermatologist in Orange County, would destroy her life, destroy her children’s lives and try to kill her husband is just completely absurd and untrue — and for that matter defamatory,” Mr Wohl told CBS News.
“Anytime she poured Drano into a cup it was completely empty,” he added.
“It was for facilitating use in the sink or any other part of the house that was clogged as far as the drainage goes, but she never poured any Drano or any chemical into any drink that her husband used or was drinking ever. That’s completely untrue.”
Mr Wohl claimed Mr Chen fabricated lies as he was “desperate to have reasons to gain custody of the children” after their divorce.
“We believe completely that these claims he made are all part and parcel of that effort,” he said.
In a statement to the court, Mr Chen said he had felt a chemical taste in his lemonade.
His lawyer Steven Hittelman countered Mr Wohl, saying Ms Yu was seen pouring Drano into Mr Chen’s lemonade once he left the room in the hidden cam footage.
He said his client was diagnosed with medical issues, including gastritis, stomach ulcers and inflammation of the esophagus, in March and April.
Ms Yu was released from police custody on late Friday after posting bond and no charges have been filed against her, according to Orange County Sheriff’s records.
Mr Chen has alleged physical and emotional abuse from his wife and said her parenting “revolves around yelling, insulting, verbally abusing, hitting, pushing, pulling and being emotionally abusive”.
“Emily would call me a ‘f****** a**hole’ and other insults,” Mr Chen wrote in his declaration to court.
“Currently she minimises my existence by telling the children in front of me, ‘tell him’ to do something without addressing me. She would have the children tell me to do menial tasks for her.”