Prosecutors announced last week that a man was sentenced to death in connection with the brutal 2019 murder of an elderly woman who was previously employed as a construction worker.
Heber Enoch Diaz, 33, of Pasadena, was hired in 2019 to work at 76-year-old Chong Jen Tsai’s Arcadia home.
According to prosecutors, Tsai committed a robbery at her home in March of the same year while she was still in office. The next month he returned to the house to commit another robbery, although he no longer worked there.
At that time, I confronted Mr. Tsai in the garage of my home. Authorities say the man is suspected of using a hammer, a jab saw and a box cutter knife to kill the woman on April 9, 2019. Her body was discovered in the garden of her home.
Chong Jen Tsai and her stolen car are seen in these photos provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Temple Station.
Tashi’s white 2005 Lexus RX 300 was also stolen that day. Her husband was out of the country at the time of his death.
Diaz was arrested on murder charges 10 days later.
“Chai Zhen Tsai was robbed and killed in her safe and secure home,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement. “This crime is especially heartbreaking as Ms. Tsai was just in her home when she encountered the intruder. We extend our deepest sympathies to Ms. Tsai’s family on their unimaginable loss. We understand that we cannot truly fill the void left by his absence, but we hope that a conviction will bring some measure of justice and peace.”
On November 7, he was found guilty by a jury of the following charges:
One count of robbery and murder with the special circumstance that the crime was committed during the robbery; Two felony counts of second-degree burglary; One count each of first-degree burglary, second-degree burglary, and elder abuse. felony
The jury also found that special circumstances allegations apply to first-degree murder and cases of using a deadly and dangerous weapon to inflict serious bodily injury on a victim over 70 years old.
Diaz is currently awaiting a sentencing hearing scheduled for December 16th. He faces the possibility of life in prison without parole.
