By ANNELISE HANSHAW
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Judge Brian Hill declared Pierre Haobsh, 31, of Oceanside guilty Wednesday afternoon for the murders of Chinese herbalist Dr. Weidong “Henry” Han, 57; wife, Huijie “Jennie” Yu, 29; and 5-year-old daughter, Emily Han.
The Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge ruled Mr. Haobsh guilty on all three counts of murder in the first degree, including special circumstances of murder for financial gain, multiple counts of murder and personal discharge of firearm causing great bodily harm.
The case marked the first time Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce E. Dudley’s office pursued the death penalty, but the punishment was removed in a deal reached by the prosecution and defense. The agreement specified that Mr. Haobsh must waive his right to a trial by jury and instead submit to a bench trial where the judge is the sole deliberator.
Judge Hill announced his verdict immediately after closing arguments, explaining to the Santa Barbara court that his decision was not made in haste.
He had begun reviewing evidence over the weekend for hours on end. (Both sides, including Mr. Haobsh, permitted the judge to review evidence prior to closing arguments.)
He presided over the preliminary hearing in 2017, read the transcript of the preliminary hearing and reviewed the transcript prior to Wednesday.
Judge Hill said juries sometimes question what “beyond a reasonable doubt” means and confuse it with “beyond a shadow of a doubt.” His answer was more certain.
“The evidence, in my mind, proves beyond a reasonable doubt, beyond a shadow of a doubt the guilt of the defendant,” he said.
The defense’s closing argument, which was delivered after the prosecution, spoke about reasonable doubt and the prosecution’s burden of proof.
“Regardless of whether the defense gives any evidence to it at all, it was for the court to prove the case,” public defense attorney Christine Voss said.
She criticized the work of investigator Jeff Ellis from the district attorney’s office for not looking into the possibility of hackers on the devices recovered from Mr. Haobsh’s vehicle and at the crime scene.
Ms. Voss also said AT&T provided cell tower sector information, which provides the directional area a phone is located in relationship to the tower, but Mr. Ellis didn’t map the sectors.
She questioned the plausibility of TJ Derida’s testimony, the business associate of Mr. Haobsh that called law enforcement March 25, 2016, after hearing a confession from Mr. Haobsh.
She called it “implausible” that other civilians with information didn’t provide details to Mr. Derida prior to March 25.
Ms. Voss said Dr. Han initiated a $70,000 transfer March 19, so the prosecution’s evidence the money was wired on the 23rd is “impossible.”
She alluded that David Barber, assistant lab director of the California Department of Justice’s Santa Barbara lab, wrote a report to favor law enforcement’s assumptions about Mr. Haobsh.
Supervising Deputy District Attorney Benjamin Ladinig said her closing “much like her client’s testimony over the last two days is total nonsense.”
Ms. Voss called out his statement. The judge said it would be questionable in a jury trial, but he didn’t think Mr. Ladinig meant it as an accusation.
Mr. Ladinig’s closing argument reviewed a “mountain of evidence” and packed emotion as he described the death of “a beacon of light in the community,” Dr. Han and his family.
“It’s time to hold Pierre Haobsh accountable for eradicating an entire family bloodline in the early morning hours of March 23, 2016,” Mr. Ladinig said. “This truly shocked this city when they found out this family had been killed in such a depraved manner.”
He described Mr. Haobsh as a “monster,” referencing the defendant’s description of the murderer in his interview with police, and “a truly blackened soul.”
Mr. Haobsh is scheduled to be sentenced the morning of Jan. 24.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s edition of the News-Press.
email: ahanshaw@newspress.com
Pierre Haobsh, who is accused of murdering three people, listens as Judge Brian Hill returns a guilty verdict during a bench trial Wednesday at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.
