On the evening of September 19, 2021, 26-year-old Justin Li was found dead in a Flushing apartment from a single gunshot wound to the head. Officers from the 109th Precinct discovered him during a wellness check at the residence that belonged to his girlfriend; he was found lying on the bed, covered by bedding. Li was a Whitestone resident and was married; his wife had requested the wellness check after she could not reach him.

Investigators treated the case as a homicide and focused on the girlfriend, 31-year-old Haiyan Deng. Authorities say she fled the state in Li’s vehicle; a state trooper located her in New Mexico on September 22, 2021, after her car broke down. Deng resisted arrest but was taken into custody with assistance. Officers found a loaded revolver in the vehicle that ballistics testing later tied to the fatal bullet, and personal property of the victim was recovered.

A grand jury in Queens returned an indictment in January 2022 charging Deng with second-degree murder and multiple related offenses, including criminal possession of a weapon and burglary for an incident on September 11, 2021, when she allegedly entered Li’s Bayside home and confronted his wife. Does anyone have information about Li’s movements in the days before September 19 or about the September 11 incident?