A 27-year-old Santa Clara man has been charged with murder in the death of his wife, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office announced Friday.
Liren Chen was found Tuesday inside his home spattered with blood and near his wife's body, the district attorney's office said.
Police first responded to the home on Valley Way late Tuesday morning to conduct a welfare check, according to the district attorney's office. An acquaintance met with officers and expressed concern about Chen and his wife.
Chen was refusing to answer his phone or the door, and, according to the acquaintance, he was "motionless on his knees, had his hands in the air and was staring blankly," the district attorney's office said.
Officers eventually entered the home and took Chen into custody. They found his wife's body on the floor in the bedroom behind where he had been standing, according to the district attorney's office.
Chen's wife had "severe blunt force injuries" to her head, according to the district attorney's office. Chen's right hand was "extremely swollen and purple," there was blood on his clothes, legs, arms and hands, and he had scratches on his arm.
Chen's initial arraignment was postponed, according to the district attorney's office. The arraignment was rescheduled for Friday afternoon, but it could be delayed again because he is hospitalized.
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"Domestic violence deaths have been falling in our county but that does not measure the depth and destructiveness of the violence," District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. "Anyone who feels that they or someone else is being abused by their partners, please reach out to your local law enforcement agency. You are not alone. We can help."
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