Husband Who Slashed Wife and Mother-in-Law’s Throats Faces Third Killing Charge Linked to Alleged Mistress

In September 2025, a Walnut Creek man was accused of a double murder after both his wife and mother-in-law were found dead at his home. Authorities have now determined that the man’s chain of crimes began earlier, as he was allegedly involved in another killing in June 2024.

43-year-old Howard Wang first made headlines when his wife, Linlin Guo, and her mother, Beimin Cheng, were found dead with their throats slashed at their Kelobra Court residence on September 18, 2025. While Wang claimed that intruders had entered his home to kill his loved ones, authorities found evidence against him.

He was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. It eventually came out that Wang had a mistress who allegedly helped him hide the crime. The woman, 45-year-old Yan Wang, was charged with destroying evidence. According to prosecutors, she went to Wang’s home after the murders and destroyed cellphones in an attempt to hide evidence.

As Wang was being held at Martinez Detention Facility, the case took a new turn on March 30 when the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office announced that Wang had also been charged with the murder of a third victim, 41-year-old Chengli Li.

Li was the romantic partner of Yan Wang, and the accused allegedly planned his murder to pursue a relationship with his mistress. According to the Contra Costa County DA’s Office, Wang traveled to San Gabriel with a gunman, Demarques James Pearl, in June 2024. Pearl eventually shot Li dead outside his home, in the presence of Wang. He has also been charged with murder.

“Howard Wang and Demarques Pearl planned the murder of Li before traveling together from the Bay Area to Los Angeles County on June 7th. The following day, Li was shot and killed outside of his apartment in San Gabriel,” the DA’s office said in a statement.

All three murder charges against Wang will be prosecuted together in Contra Costa County. His arraignment is scheduled for April 14 at the A.F. Bray Courthouse’s annex in Martinez. If found guilty, Wang could face life imprisonment. According to prosecutors, Wang was having an affair with Yan Wang while being married to Guo.

The two were facing troubles in their marriage for years, as Wang was earlier accused of making threats against his wife in 2024. Prosecutors also allege that he stopped her from reporting abuse to law enforcement in 2023. However, the primary motive behind the killings of Guo and Cheng remains undisclosed.

Wang and Guo shared two eight-year-old twin daughters, who were reportedly present at home when their father slit the throats of their mother and grandmother. The children were left unharmed in the attack. Wang later allegedly also fired two gunshots to make it look like he was protecting his family from an intruder.