Scarlet Chen’s Mother Ruled Guilty
“Linda” Xuan Peng has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2004 drowning death of her 4-year-old autistic daughter Scarlet Chen, according to the March 1st Toronto Sun. Scarlets death was initially ruled an “unfortunate accident,” but, on February 28, 2005, Peng was arrested and charged with murder. The case went to trial on November 5, 2007. On the day of Scarlet’s drowning, her pediatrician, Dr. James Leung, had told Peng that Scarlet could not be cured by surgery.
“Linda” Xuan Peng, wearing a pink and white sweater and black slacks, kept her head bowed as the jury returned with the guilty verdict Saturday, prompting Peng’s stunned defense lawyer Kathryn Wells to break down in tears.
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Also present in the court were Chen’s elderly mom Ning Li and her distraught husband “David” Xing Zhuang Chen, who crumped into sobs as Peng was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
Chen extended his arms in apparent attempt to gain the attention of Peng, who stared at the ground and didn’t lift her head up as she was led out of the court.
Peng has bipolar disorder; this was never revealed to the jury, out of a concern that this would prejudice her right to a fair trial.
Tags: asd, asperger, autism, Crime, drowning, Parenting, pdd-nos, pediatricianRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Crime
1 opinion for Scarlet Chen’s Mother Ruled Guilty
Kristina Chew, PhD
Mar 18, 2008 at 10:13 am
Xuan Peng was given a life sentence on Friday, as reported by CTV.ca. Her husband, David Chen, says that he will fight until he is cleared of the crime.
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