Third homicide charge added for NorCal double murder suspect, prosecutors say

Howard Wang, 43, faces additional charges in connection with the June 2024 fatal shooting of 41-year-old Chengli Li in San Gabriel, according to prosecutors. Wang allegedly conspired with 33-year-old Demarques James Pearl to plan and carry out the killing, traveling from the Bay Area to Los Angeles County to do so, authorities say.

Li was the romantic partner of Wang’s girlfriend, who is also charged in connection with the earlier Walnut Creek double murder case, according to the district attorney’s office.

Wang was initially charged in September 2025 with the murders of his wife, Linlin Guo, and her mother, Beimin Cheng, who were found dead inside their family’s residence on Kelobra Court in Walnut Creek on Sept. 18, 2025, prosecutors said. Wang was taken into custody following a 911 call reporting a disturbance and possible gunfire.

In addition to the murder charges, prosecutors previously alleged that Wang made criminal threats against his wife in 2024 and prevented her from reporting a crime to law enforcement in 2023.

The district attorney’s office later charged 45-year-old Yan Wang, described as Howard Wang’s girlfriend at the time, as an accessory to the murders. Prosecutors allege she helped him avoid arrest, entered the home after the killings to commit theft, and destroyed cellphones to conceal evidence.

Officials said the newly filed Los Angeles County murder charge will be consolidated with the Contra Costa County case, allowing all three killings to be prosecuted together.

Prosecutors allege the cases are connected through personal relationships and planning, though they have not publicly detailed a broader motive beyond those ties.

Wang and Pearl are expected to be arraigned this month in Contra Costa County Superior Court, though proceedings had previously been delayed at the request of defense attorneys, according to the district attorney’s office.

Pearl is scheduled to be arraigned on April 1 and Wang on April 14 at the A.F. Bray Courthouse’s annex in Martinez.

If convicted, Wang could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.