Jing Li, a 37-year-old woman, and her husband, Kuanlun Wang, also 37, were murdered on October 12, 2024. The couple resided in Brea, California, and their deaths were allegedly connected to a financial dispute with Wang's business associate, 30-year-old Huangting Gong of Glendale, who owed Wang $80,000.
According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Gong met Wang in a Southern California desert on October 12 and shot him in the head. Prosecutors allege Gong then placed Wang’s body in the victim’s Tesla and drove back to the couple’s Brea home. There, he allegedly attacked Jing Li with a hammer, forcing her to provide her phone's password. He is then accused of putting Li in her own Tesla, driving her to a desert in San Bernardino, shooting her, and burning her body. Authorities say Gong then returned to the Brea home for Wang’s body, which he took to a desert in Riverside County and burned.
He also allegedly set both of the couple’s Teslas on fire in separate desert areas. Two days later, on October 14, Gong allegedly returned to the home and stole nearly $250,000 in luxury watches, shoes, handbags, and clothing.
The investigation began on October 15 after a family member reported Wang missing to the Brea Police Department, explaining it was unusual not to hear from him. The relative told police about the $80,000 debt Gong owed Wang. The family member had contacted Gong on the day of the murders, and he claimed the couple had missed a planned trip to New York City to collect the money, a trip the family was not aware of. On October 14, the relative saw a man on surveillance footage on the couple's patio and confronted Gong, who denied it was him. Shortly after, the family member’s access to the surveillance system was cut off.
Brea police arrested Gong at Los Angeles International Airport on November 5 as he returned from a trip to Seattle. He was charged with multiple felonies, including two counts of murder, kidnapping, arson, and burglary, with special circumstances enhancements for multiple murders and murder during a kidnapping. "Depravity does not adequately describe the callousness involved to kill a human being and then drive around in the victim's own car with his body inside in order to carry out the rest of his plan," said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. Gong faces a sentence of life without parole or the death penalty. A special committee will decide whether to pursue the death penalty after a preliminary hearing. As of November 2024, Gong was held without bail, and his arraignment was scheduled for December 2 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.
