An Irvine man was convicted of first-degree murder for killing his estranged wife’s alleged lover, officials announced Thursday.
Hongli Sun, 43, was convicted of one felony count of first-degree murder with a felony enhancement for using a deadly weapon, and one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon with a felony enhancement of inflicting great bodily injury, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Months after discovering that 54-year-old dentist Xuan Liu was allegedly having an affair with his wife, Sun drove to his dental office on Barranca Parkway on July 18, 2015. He sat in his Mercedes waiting for Liu to return.
Sun then intentionally drove into Liu in the parking lot and stabbed him multiple times, the DA’s Office said. Liu died at the scene.
Sun also stabbed a woman who attempted to intervene in the attack before he fled, officials said.
“Even though there were multiple witnesses to the murder, this was not an easy case to prosecute,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “The defense attempted to paint this as a crime of passion, but Deputy District Attorney Mark Birney was masterful in walking the jurors through the elements of the crime to show this was a cold calculated choice by the defendant to end another human being’s life.”
Sun is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 30. He faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life.