Santa Barbara DA Drops Bid for Death Penalty in Han Family Murder Case

In her 11 years as Santa Barbara’s District Attorney, Joyce Dudley has only sought the death penalty once, and that was against Pierre Haobsh, now facing trial for the triple homicide of noted herbal doctor Weidong “Henry” Han, 57; his wife, Huijie “Jennie” Yu, 29; and their daughter, Emily, age 5, in March 2016. This week, in Judge Brian Hill’s courtroom, Dudley and two prosecutors — Benjamin Ladinig and Hilary Dozer — agreed to drop the death penalty enhancements against Haobsh, 27 years old at the time of the killings. In exchange, Haobsh agreed to waive his right to a jury trial; Judge Hill will act not just as judge but as jury.

As details of the case emerged — of bodies wrapped up in tarps and wrapped with duct tape, of all three victims shot to death in the beds of their Goleta home, and of the daughter shot multiple times in the face — Haobsh would emerge as the poster child for death penalty supporters: an allegedly creepy, calculating killer motivated by greed and profit. 

If Judge Hill finds Haobsh guilty, he’ll be sentenced to three terms of life without the possibility of parole. In addition, Haobsh and his attorneys — Christine Voss and Michael Manley with the Public Defender’s office — agreed to allow prosecutors to introduce pretty much all of the evidence and testimony presented during the 2017 preliminary hearing entered as evidence without opposition. Even hearsay evidence presented during the prelim will be allowed without challenge. In fact, Haobsh agreed to terms stipulating that “the preliminary hearing transcripts can be accepted by the court as part of the factual basis for any verdict or finding by the court.”