two bizarre crimes in California
two bizarre crimes in California
Date: Monday, November 17, 2008 6:57 PM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1938 -- 11/17/2008 >>>>>
Two bizarre events recently occurred in California.
HEADLINE #1: Test Engineer goes postal
A test engineer was fired from a company called Siport. Shortly after Jing Hua
Wu had been fired, he had a meeting with three SiPort executives. He pulled
out a 9-mm handgun and killed them. The three killed were Marilyn Lewis, 67,
of San Jose, the company's head of human resources; Brian Pugh, 47, of Los
Altos, vice president for operations; and Sid Agrawal, 56, of Fremont, the
company's co-founder and chief executive.
On the surface it doesn't appear that race or ethnicity had anything to do
with Wu's cold blooded and premeditated murders, although at this time there
isn't enough information to conclude what motivated him. The murder of Sid
Agrawal is causing quite a buzz on Indian news websites because many Indians
consider him to be a successful example of an NRI (non-resident Indian). He
held a degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT-Kanpur and then earned a
master's degree in engineering from the University of Southern Illinois.
Agrawal was probably a naturalized citizen because has been in the U.S. since
1975.
The two others who were murdered were non-Indians, so there seems to be no
pattern to Wu's madness besides the fact that he wanted to take out the
executives who terminated his employment.
HEADLINE #2: UC postdoctoral researcher charged in colleague's poisoning
Benchun Liu, a postdoctoral researcher at the UCSF urology department, twice
tried to poison Mei Cao, a female colleague by putting laboratory chemicals in
her drinking water. Very little has been said about either of these two people
except that Benchun Liu is a Chinese citizen here on a work visa. More than
likely the visa is an H-1B, but without further information it's tough know
anything his or her immigration status. The court put Liu on immigration hold
without bail. About all we know about the victim is that she is a research
associate at the university.
The news reports of these incidents leave a lot to be desired because they are
vague on details and superficial about who the perpetrators and the victims
are, and what were their motivations for the crimes. I have spent hours
searching the internet on these cases and have found that almost all the
articles are not much more than repeats of the ones copied below. Good luck
finding more. I suspect the university and other agencies scrubbed information
off the web because it's as if the people involved didn't exist. I couldn't
find one biography of any of the people involved. Let me know if you do.
Without more information it's very difficult to determine if these crimes were
random incidents of violence caused by the pressure cooker of the high-tech
work environment in Silicon Valley. So many of the jobs, whether in academia
or industry in that area are dehumanizing and over demanding.
It's a wonder that more people haven't gone postal.
So, just why is there so little real information on these two crimes? It's
been my experience that when news stories have been around this long, and the
stories are so lacking of substance, the mainstream media is hiding something.
I have no proof, but I think there were factors involved in one or both of
these crimes that involved immigration, race, ethnicity, or culture. Just
guessing though......
It's no secret in Silicon Valley that there is animosity between the Chinese
and Indian communities that is partly caused by the fact that they are
competing in the same job market. Don't be fooled by the liberal media that
wants you to believe that the Bay Area is a melting pot -- it's a pot that's
melting!
http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212100125
SiPort issues statement following tragic shooting
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11005968?source=most_viewed
Murder suspect Jing Hua Wu to be arraigned in San Jose on Wednesday
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/16/MNSL145QF5.DTL&tsp=1
Families in shock over Silicon Valley slayings
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3717452.cms
Indian-American CEO of tech firm killed in US shooting
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/print.aspx?artid=mEnNUNoLC6w=
Killer of Indian American CEO arrested
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/12/BABA142C6E.DTL
UC lab worker charged in colleague's poisoning
http://cbs5.com/local/ucsf.poison.researcher.2.863720.html
Alleged UCSF Poisoner Pleads Not Guilty
(web page has video report)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212100125
SiPort issues statement following tragic shooting
Mark LaPedus
(11/16/2008 1:11 AM EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212100125
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- SiPort Inc. on Saturday (Nov. 15) issued a statement amid
a tragedy at the chip startup. In the somber statement, SiPort offered
condolences to the families and friends of the victims who were fatally shot
at the company.
As reported, a former employee at the Silicon Valley chip startup, which is
backed by Intel Corp., returned to the facility on Friday (Nov. 14) and
fatally shot three people, according to reports.
The suspect, Jing Hua Wu, 47, was arrested on Saturday (Nov. 15) in Mountain
View, Calif., according to reports. This week, Wu was apparently fired from
his test engineering job at SiPort (Santa Clara, Calif.), according to
reports.
Wu was ''terminated'' and was not part of a general layoff, as previously
thought. SiPort has never had a general layoff in the history of the company,
according to a statement issued by SiPort.
Shortly after he had been fired on Friday, Wu walked into the offices of
SiPort, according to reports. Wu and three SiPort executives went into a room.
Wu then pulled out a 9-mm handgun and shot all three, the reports said.
As previously feared, Wu killed three employees. The three victims were Sid
Agrawal, CEO; Brian Pugh, vice president of operations; and Marilyn Lewis,
human resources manager.
"The entire SiPort staff and board are in mourning. We are a close-knit team
of engineers and entrepreneurs who built this company together. We are
devastated by the loss and our hearts go out to the families and friends of
Sid, Brian and Marilyn," said Aiman Kabakibo, the new CEO and company founder,
in a statement.
Agrawal joined SiPort as CEO in 2004 and is credited with helping secure
funding for the company, building out the executive staff and forming
connections with early customers.
''He is known for his intelligence, approachability and warmth, as well as a
leadership style that emphasized mentoring,'' according to the statement.
Pugh served as vice president of operations and was responsible for
transforming SiPort into a manufacturing operation. He attended Stanford
University and was ''known as a brilliant, high-energy engineer,''
according to the statement.
Marilyn Lewis served as the HR manager ''and was the glue that held the
company together. She managed a variety of human resource and administrative
functions including recruiting, payroll and vendor management. Marilyn joined
the company in 2005 and was a key contributor to the growth of SiPort,''
according to SiPort.
"All three people were extremely well liked and will be sorely missed. We are
a team of entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists who enjoy working with each
other very much. We grieve along with their families and friends," said
Kabakibo.
Formed in 2004, SiPort is a fabless semiconductor company developing mixed
signal RF and digital baseband wireless receiver chips supporting multiple
Digital Broadcast Standards. Investors in the startup include Lightspeed
Venture Partners, Morgenthaler, New Venture Partners and Intel Capital.
The startup is reportedly betting the first application for its chip will be
portable GSP devices, given HD Radio's ability to datacast real-time traffic
information from local radio stations in far more detailed and comprehensive
fashion than is currently available via the analog FM band.
In August, SiPort---a supplier of digital terrestrial broadcast receiver ICs
that is partly backed by Intel Corp.--said that its device received ''HD Radio
Ready'' certification from iBiquity Digital Corp. IBiquity is the developer
and licensor of HD Radio technology.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11005968?source=most_viewed
Murder suspect Jing Hua Wu to be arraigned in San Jose on Wednesday By Lisa
Fernandez
Mercury News
Article Launched: 11/17/2008 11:06:18 AM PST
Booking mug of Jing Hua Wu, arrested in connection with the... (Courtesy Santa
Clara County Sheriff)+1;
The recently fired engineer suspected of killing three colleagues at their
Santa Clara office last week is expected to be arraigned in Santa Clara County
Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon.
Santa Clara police spent the weekend "trying to tie up loose ends and are
still investigating the case'' regarding why Jing Hua Wu made an appointment
Friday afternoon with top executives at SiPort on Scott Boulevard, and then
shot them with a 9 mm handgun, Lt. Mike Sellers said today.
The three killed were Marilyn Lewis, 67, of San Jose, the company's head of
human resources; Brian Pugh, 47, of Los Altos, vice president for operations;
and Sid Agrawal, 56, of Fremont, the company's co-founder and chief executive.
Sellers said police will likely wrap up their preliminary investigation by
Tuesday and forward their findings to the District Attorney's Office then.
Wu's arraignment is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Santa Clara County Coroner did not release any information about the
victims.
Wu is being held without bail in jail after being arrested Saturday morning in
a shopping center parking lot.
Wu was fired from SiPort, a small semiconductor company, Friday morning
because of poor performance issues, company officials said. Police said Wu
asked for a meeting with top executives later that day -- and they agreed.
Contact Lisa Fernandez at lfernandez@mercurynews.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/16/MNSL145QF5.DTL&tsp=1
Families in shock over Silicon Valley slayings
Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, November 17, 2008
Sid Agrawal spun a Silicon Valley success story after emigrating from India
alone and with just a few dollars in his pocket.
Marilyn Lewis was so devoted to work that when she told her two daughters she
wanted to take off with them on a Hawaiian cruise a few years ago, they
wondered if she had been diagnosed with cancer and given just a few months to
live.
And Brian Pugh, despite being known for a sharp mind, reminded some people of
Santa Claus. He had a bit of the look, friends said, and some of the spirit as
well.
The three people were fatally shot Friday at a startup Santa Clara
semiconductor firm, allegedly by an engineer who had been fired that morning
for poor performance. They were fondly recalled Sunday by relatives, friends
and colleagues, many of whom gathered to support each other and arrange for
funerals.
The common emotion seemed to be disbelief - that the victims could be taken
away in such a seemingly senseless fashion.
"We're never going to have our mom back, and shame on him," said Cindy
Andersen of Howell, Mich., the older of Lewis' daughters. "He has taken away
something from us that will never be replaced."
From her brother's home in Dublin, Andersen said, "It's absolutely your worst
nightmare. You never, ever think this is going to happen to a family member."
Andersen and others said they were relieved that suspect Jing Hua Wu, a 47-
year-old father of three from Mountain View, had been arrested Saturday
morning and jailed on suspicion of three counts of murder.
Suspect In Santa Clara jail
The test engineer at SiPort, a 4-year-old wireless chip company, was held
without bail at the Santa Clara County Jail on Sunday.
Police said Wu, after he was fired, returned at 3 p.m. to the company office
on Scott Boulevard and requested a meeting with Agrawal, the company's chief
executive, as well as Pugh, the vice president of operations, and Lewis, who
managed the office and handled human resources.
Without warning, Police Chief Steve Lodge said, Wu pulled out a 9mm pistol and
shot his colleagues at 3:53 p.m. He then fled without harming any of the other
three dozen or so employees at the firm, Lodge said.
Sunder Velamuri, SiPort's vice president of marketing, said Sunday that Wu's
firing was based on performance, but that the company was "trying to be
accommodating in every way possible," including offering to give Wu references
for another job.
"This was not expected in the least," Velamuri said.
Family members of the victims said they did not recall them talking about Wu
or expressing any concern about him.
The renaissance man
For Agrawal, the shooting ended the life of a 56-year-old renaissance man who
started out with almost nothing and became a car racer and a collector of fine
art and wine. He arrived in the United States from India in 1975 with little
more than a change of clothes and a desire to do better, said his son, Ashish
Agrawal.
"It was the American dream," the son said in an interview from his parents'
home in Fremont.
The elder Agrawal earned a master's degree in engineering from the University
of Southern Illinois, then returned to India, where he met and marry his wife,
Asha. After bringing her back to the United States, she sold photo supplies
door to door to put him through the University of Chicago's business school.
Agrawal later worked for Intel and others before specializing in launching
small startups. He was named SiPort's first chief executive in 2004.
Agrawal was the first in his family to attend college. Now, his sons, Ashish
and Ankur, are a UCSF medical school student and a Harvard undergraduate,
respectively. And Agrawal had long sent money back to India, underwriting the
education of relatives.
"He built his life around others," Ashish Agrawal said, "so even when he's
gone, we're still here, and we're a representation of what he's done. I'm
happy I'll be able to live my life representing him, and I hope he's proud."
She lived for work, the kids
Lewis' three grown children were together Sunday at the home of her son, Tye
Lewis. They remembered their 67-year-old mother as a talented, generous and
upbeat person who lived for work and for her children and five grandchildren.
She absolutely had to keep busy, and recently took a "sewing cruise," which
led to the giving of canvas bags to all family members.
"She had ants in her pants," Andersen said.
Lewis joined SiPort in 2005 and became "the glue that held the company
together," said Velamuri, the SiPort vice president of marketing.
Lewis' younger daughter, Tracy Hockett of Antelope (Sacramento County), said
her 9-year-old son had been looking forward to his grandmother's birthday on
Dec. 7. The plan was to go to Hometown Buffet.
"We're still going to go to Hometown Buffet, and all we're going to eat is
dessert," Hockett said. "It's silly stuff like that that we're going to miss."
The engineer and singer
Friends in the Bay Area, San Diego and beyond were mourning Pugh, 47, who
would have been facing a difficult decision Saturday when Cal and Stanford
play football in the Big Game. Pugh earned his undergraduate degree from UC
Berkeley and a master's of science degree from Stanford.
Pugh joined SiPort last year after moving back to his native Bay Area from San
Diego with his wife, Carol Pugh, and his two children, 5-year-old Nicholas and
3-year-old Christina. The family bought a home in Los Altos.
Pugh was a "brilliant engineer with a terrific, wry sense of humor,"
Velamuri said. "A high-energy guy."
Outside work, Pugh sang as a tenor and a featured soloist in the Peninsula
Chorale, said fellow tenor Lara Colvert.
"I'm very sorry I won't be able to hear his voice again," Colvert said. "I
have young kids, and I'm trying to figure out how to explain this to them.
But I can't even explain it to myself."
Craig Rumbaugh, who met Pugh through a San Diego church, was also struggling
for answers. He recalled his friend as religious and generous, and as the
perfect person to ask for advice on technology.
"He kind of looked like Santa Claus," Rumbaugh said of Pugh, who was a bit
soft around the middle. "He had the red nose and the cheeks and the eyes, and
also the love and the joy of Kris Kringle.
"This is just one of those tragic things that you never think would happen to
someone you know. When it does, you can only focus on the good memories and
try to support the family. Because there's no explanation."
E-mail Demian Bulwa at dbulwa@sfchronicle.com.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3717452.cms
Indian-American CEO of tech firm killed in US shooting
16 Nov 2008, 0041 hrs IST, Hemali Chhapia, TIMES NEWS NETWORK & AGENCIES
SILICON VALLEY/MUMBAI: Less than two months after the managing director of
Italian firm Graziano's Indian subsidiary was lynched in Noida by sacked
workers, IIT-educated Sid Agrawal, the CEO of a US semiconductor company, was
shot dead by a laid-off worker in California. ( Watch )
Police are searching for Jing Hua Wu, 47, who worked as a lead product test
engineer for the four-year-old firm, SiPort, till a few days ago when he was
laid off. Wu is also reported to have shot SiPort's vice-president of
operations, Brian Pugh, and a woman whose identity is withheld. It is not
clear if Wu was retrenched because of the economic slowdown.
Investigators are trying to find out if this led him to kill teh company's top
management. A massive manhunt is on for Wu, who is reported to have driven off
in a silver SUV.
According to a report in the San Jose Mercury newspaper, Friday's violent
scene erupted just before 4 pm. Police say Wu reached SiPort's offices and
began shooting.
Agrawal was an electrical engineeer who graduated from IIT Kanpur in 1974.
He moved to the US and did his MS from Southern Illinois University and MBA
from the University of Chicago.
He was all set to visit IIT-K next month for the 35th reunion of his batch.
He was excited at the prospect of meeting his batchmates, said Kripa Shanker,
former deputy director of the institute. In a tragic coincidence, L K
Chaudury, the slain CEO of Graziano India, was also from IIT-Kanpur.
Agrawal became an entrepreneur after working with leading tech companies such
as Intel, Bell Labs and Adobe. Abhay Bhushan, president of the IIT-K alumni
association, described him as a passionate entrepreneur. Each time he got
bored, he started a new company. There s so much to learn he would say,
Bhushan said. Agrawal is survived by wife Asha and two sons.
SiPort, which was Agrawal s fourth or fifth venture, is a small firm
specialising in developing digital radio semiconductors.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/print.aspx?artid=mEnNUNoLC6w=
15 Nov 2008 11:32:00 PM IST
Killer of Indian American CEO arrested
CALIFORNIA: Jing Hua Wu, who gunned down Sid Agrawal, the Indian American
CEO of a semi-conductor company, along with two of his top officials Friday
afternoon, was arrested by the Santa Clara Police Saturday.
Jing, 47, now facing triple homicide charge, was arrested by the police
Saturday morning outside a business in Mountain View, the neighborhood where
the assailant apparently lived. He was let go by the company Friday morning,
which the police suspects could have been the main reason for this shooting
spree at the office of SiPort Inc in Santa Clara.
Santa Clara Police chief Steve Lodge said the assailant was unarmed and made
no resistance at the time of arrest. The arrest followed a massive manhunt
launched by the police soon after the shootout Friday afternoon.
Following his arrest, Jing was interrogated by police. No details were however
available immediately.
The police said Jing has been arrested on charges of killing three top
officials of SiPort Inc.
Sid Agrawal, 56, an electrical engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur, was the
CEO and director of the company. The other two victims identified by the
police included Marilyn Lewis, 67, company's head of human resources and Brian
Pugh, 47, vice president (operations) of the company.
Addressing a press conference after the arrest, Santa Clara Police Chief
conceded that the shooting spree has caused "genuine fear in the community".
With global economic meltdown, a lot of people in Silicon Valley are facing
job cuts.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/12/BABA142C6E.DTL
UC lab worker charged in colleague's poisoning
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
(11-11) 17:47 PST SAN FRANCISCO --
A postdoctoral researcher in the UCSF urology department has been charged with
attempted murder after allegedly admitting that he twice tried to poison a
colleague by putting laboratory chemicals in her drinking water, authorities
said Tuesday.
The bizarre scheme ended when researcher Benchun Liu, 38, allegedly told the
colleague, lab technician and research assistant Mei Cao, that he had tried to
kill her, police said.
The two work together in the Baskin Lab on the university's Parnassus campus.
Liu, a Chinese citizen here on a work visa, was arrested Friday and was
charged Monday with attempted murder and putting poison in a drink. He is in
the County Jail on an immigration hold; no bail has been set.
Police said Liu tried to poison Cao twice, first on Oct. 24 and again sometime
the following week. He admitted the scheme in the first week of November,
authorities said.
"If he hadn't have told her, we would have had no idea he was doing this,"
said UCSF police Capt. Paul Berlin.
Liu told police that he had been "stressed out" in recent weeks, but
otherwise, investigators aren't sure why he might have tried to poison Cao.
He told investigators that in both attempted poisonings, he had used a buffer
agent designed to control acid in lab solutions, Berlin said.
The agent turns water blue, but Cao drank it anyway, Berlin said.
"It was discolored - she noticed it," Berlin said. "She did swallow some of
the contents. She claimed to have no reaction, but that is short term. We
don't know what the long-term impact will be on her body."
Cao was examined at the UCSF Medical Center and was released, police said.
Berlin said police found the solution in searches of Liu's property at the lab
and at his home. Liu confessed that he had tried to kill Cao and even
cooperated in a videotaped re-enactment of the poisonings, police said.
"He won't give us a motive, but he claims he was stressed out at work,"
Berlin said.
Cao, he added, "is a little taken aback by this."
She was unable to say why Liu might have tried to kill her, Berlin said.
"They had just a working relationship - no romantic relationship," he said.
"They both work in the lab, and I guess there is some competition in the lab.
You could speculate for days. But what was exactly on his mind, only he
knows."
Dr. Laurence Baskin, head of the program where the two work, declined to
comment.
E-mail Jaxon Van Derbeken at jvanderbeken@sfchronicle.com.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://cbs5.com/local/ucsf.poison.researcher.2.863720.html
Nov 13, 2008 1:37 pm US/Pacific
Alleged UCSF Poisoner Pleads Not Guilty
CBS 5 CrimeWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ? A University of California at San Francisco researcher
accused of trying to poison a female coworker pleaded not guilty Thursday in
San Francisco Superior Court to charges of attempted murder, poisoning and
assault with a deadly weapon, his attorney said.
Ben Chun Liu, 38, a Chinese post-doctoral student in the United States on a
work visa, was arrested Friday and remained in custody Thursday on a no-bail
immigration hold.
Liu allegedly poured a lab chemical into the drinking water of 44-year-old lab
technician Mei Cao on two occasions in recent weeks, according to university
police. The first incident occurred Oct. 23, police said.
The chemical was identified as ethidium bromide, according to court documents
filed today by prosecutors.
Ethidium bromide is used commonly in laboratories and, according to federal
safety guidelines, is considered hazardous if ingested. However, little is
known about its long-term toxic effects on humans.
Following the incidents, Cao was examined at the UCSF Medical Center and later
released. She is in good health now, police said.
Liu's attorney Bill Fazio said Thursday he is still reviewing evidence in the
case, but argued that if the chemical is not a poison, his client would be
innocent of the charges, even if he had intended to use the chemical to poison
someone.
Both Liu and Cao worked at the university's urology department, according to
the school.
Police said Cao noticed there was something in the water after drinking some
of it, and notified police after Liu allegedly admitted to her that he had
tried to poison her.
A motive for the alleged poisoning was still not known.
Liu would only tell police that he had been "stressed out," police said.
According to police, the two had worked together at the lab for at least a
year, and did not have a romantic relationship.
Police said Liu had never expressed any hostility toward Cao.
Liu was scheduled to return to court Friday to set a date for his preliminary
hearing, Fazio said.
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