Yue Yu faces charges after allegedly poisoning her husband’s tea with a “Drano-like” liquid, prosecutors said. (Mugshot from Irvine Police Department; screenshot of her in the kitchen courtesy of Steven G. Hittelman of the Hittelman Family Law Group)
A California dermatologist has been indicted for allegedly poisoning her husband by pouring a “Drano-like” liquid into his tea, causing him stomach ulcers in a twisted case her husband’s lawyer said capped years of domestic abuse against his client and their children.
A grand jury in Orange County, California, indicted Yue “Emily” Yu, 45, of Irvine, on three felony counts of poisoning and one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury, prosecutors said. Irvine is about 45 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.
“Our homes should be where we feel the safest,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “Yet, a licensed medical professional capitalized on her husband’s daily rituals to torment her husband by systematically plying his tea with a Drano-like substance intending to cause him pain and suffering.”
Yu is set to answer to the charges at her arraignment on April 18, authorities said. She faces up to eight years and eight months in prison if convicted on all counts, officials said.
Yu must self-report to the Medical Board of California, which will determine whether she will be allowed to continue to practice medicine. A check of the Medical Board’s website on Thursday showed her status as active to practice medicine.
A spokesman said the board is aware of the indictment but declined to comment other than to say the board’s investigation is independent of any criminal investigation.
Authorities said it all began in early April 2022 when Yu’s husband noticed a strange taste in his tea. He had fallen ill over a monthlong period and became suspicious that his wife was responsible for his illness, police said.
“When the taste continued, he installed cameras in the family’s Irvine kitchen to see if he could capture any evidence of why his tea tastes strange,” prosecutors said.
On July 11, July 18, and July 25, video captured Yu pouring a substance out of a bottle of liquid drain cleaner into her husband’s tea on the counter, officials said.
Her husband collected samples of the tea and turned them over to the Irvine Police Department. The samples were later turned over to the FBI for testing, which confirmed the substance was consistent with liquid drain cleaner, prosecutors said.
Irvine police arrested Yu in August on suspicion of poisoning. She was released from jail after posting a $30,000 bond.
The husband has recovered, his lawyer, Steven Hittelman, told Law&Crime.
The case followed years of domestic abuse by Yu, he said.
Divorce proceedings are underway.
In August, a judge issued a temporary restraining order against Yu that temporarily barred her from seeing her children, Hittelman said.
Yu’s attorney, David Wohl, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But he has denied the allegations, according to statements made to CBS Los Angeles.
“He may have been ill. He may have had ulcers,” said Wohl. “He may have had an inflamed esophagus for another reason. Or worst case scenario, he may have ingested Drano himself to injure himself and then blame Mrs. Yu.”
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