An Orange County dermatologist accused of trying to poison her husband had her case dismissed Friday by a judge, who said the district attorney’s office withheld evidence.
Yue “Emily” Yu was arrested by police in 2022 for allegedly pouring Drano, a toxic clog cleaner, into her husband’s drink. Surveillance video allegedly captured such a moment where she is seen pouring the cleaner into a container on a kitchen counter near a sink.
The husband Jack Chen said he “started noticing a chemical taste” in his lemon tea, prompting him to set up the surveillance. Consumption of the cleaner led to his diagnosis of two stomach ulcers, gastritis and esophagitis, he claimed.
FBI tests confirmed that drain cleaner was present in the drinking glass.
According to court documents, Chen has videos of three separate occasions of Yu trying to poison him with Drano.
However, Yu’s defense attorneys argued the Drano was poured in an attempt to kill ants in the kitchen at the suggestion of Chen. The two were in the midst of a divorce during that time.
“He’s falsely claiming that she’s trying to poison him,” defense attorney Scott Simmons had said. “Instead of calling 911, he calls a divorce lawyer.”
The defense also claimed Chen’s diagnoses were more likely from acid reflux and not the cleaner.
The dismissal Friday was a result of prosecutors denying the jury’s request to see evidence that supported Yu’s defense.
“We are grateful that the court closely examined the proceedings that produced this charge and recognized that the process by which the indictment was obtained was fundamentally flawed,” Simmons said. “We thank the court for its diligence and ask only that Emily Yu now be allowed to rebuild her life in peace.”
This is the second time the case has seen dismissal. In January, the district attorney’s office filed a motion to dismiss charges after a key witness was unable to appear on the first day of trial. It came after the office added an attempted poisoning charge to replace a 2023 indictment.
A spokesperson for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office told NBC4 that “we are refilling this case. We believe in the strength of the evidence in this case, and in the professional conduct of our prosecutors.”
Defense attorneys said they would immediately move to dismiss another case against Yu.
