Yang's plea starts the trial process but it could be awhile before a final verdict is reached, deputy district attorney Ed Fernandez said. Next is a preliminary hearing set for Nov. 2, where the judge will determine if there is enough evidence for a jury trial.

"You don't have a trial without a not-guilty plea," Fernandez said. "Whether or not she is guilty, she has the right to a trial."

It was a grisly scene the morning of March 15 when sheriff's deputies tried to talk Yang down from a third-floor balcony on Fieldstone Drive in Saratoga. Yang was covered in blood, holding a knife and threatening to jump from the balcony. A crowd of onlookers had gathered. Deputies secured the area after Yang passed out due to loss of blood from self-inflicted stab wounds. McCandless was found on the floor of his townhouse dead from multiple stab wounds, primarily to the neck.

Yang suffered traumatic wounds and was treated by paramedics and taken to Valley Medical Center. She has since recovered.

Reports indicate that McCandless had been at home with another woman that morning when Yang broke into the home and attacked him with a knife when he entered the kitchen. At the time, Yang was out on bail regarding charges from a previous assault on McCandless where she had allegedly beaten him with a metal flashlight and then slit her wrists.

McCandless was a prominent Bay Area real estate developer and restaurant owner. His company, McCandless Management Co., left business towers and office parks bearing the McCandless name across the Santa Clara Valley, most notably the 11-story McCandless Towers at Santa Clara's Great America Parkway. McCandless also owned the bar and grill Birk's Restaurant in Santa Clara.

McCandless was 57 at the time of his death and Yang was 27. Yang is being prosecuted for multiple felonies.