US man Nelson Chia hired killer, blamed girlfriend’s murder on anti-Asian hate, police say
- Nelson Chia, 73, stood to gain millions from the death of Lili Xu, 60, court documents show
- He was arrested in connection with the murder and killed himself in jail a few hours later
A man who allegedly orchestrated his girlfriend’s murder in Oakland, California, stood to gain millions from her death, according to court documents released Monday.
Nelson Chia, 73, was arrested on Friday in connection with the August 21 killing of his long-time girlfriend, 60-year-old Lili Xu. Chia killed himself in Santa Rita Jail a few hours after he was arrested, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said.
After Xu was shot to death, Chia cried and mourned his partner in interviews with local media outlets, telling a reporter for KGO-TV in San Francisco that he and Xu’s friends believed the crime to be motivated by anti-Asian hate, not an attempted robbery gone wrong.
But according to Oakland police, Chia had hired his girlfriend’s killer and planned the attack in a scheme to commit murder for financial gain.
Chia was driving Xu’s vehicle when she was shot three times as she got out in Oakland’s Little Saigon neighbourhood, police said. Officers found Chia and Xu lying side by side on the ground; Xu died after being taken to a hospital.
Footage from a security camera shows someone pull up next to Xu’s vehicle in a white Lexus sedan, get out, then shoot her after a struggle, according to police. “Chia observed the entire incident,” police wrote.