Willow Glen Resident

News

San Jose woman shot and killed in an office building parking lot

By Chris Vongsarath

A San Jose woman was gunned down outside an office building in the Westgate area on July 1, according to San Jose police.

The shooting occurred just before 10 a.m. on the corner of Duvall Drive and Hamilton Avenue, near Westgate Mall, police said. The shooting happened a few blocks west of Campbell's city limits.

At approximately 3 p.m., a SWAT felony apprehension team arrested Jason Cai, 50, of San Jose, said Sgt. Mike Sullivan, public information officer. Cai was booked at Santa Clara County Jail on a charge of murder.

Police did not release the name of the woman, but according to the San Jose Mercury News website the victim has been identified as Xia Zhao, 39, an attorney who worked at the Westgate Office Center.

The website reported that Zhao was part of the legal team challenging Cai's acquittal two years ago on a charge of murdering his wife, Ying Deng, who was found floating in the couple's Cupertino pool in June 2003.

Cai had allegedly stalked and threatened Zhao for taking the wrongful-death lawsuit to the point where she sought a restraining order against him.

Zhao had feared for her life, warning family members to be careful and "not to go outside," the website reported.

Zhao is San Jose's 18th homicide victim this year.

Neighbors standing across the street from the crime scene reported hearing multiple gunshots in the morning.

Debbie Kenner, who lives in a nearby apartment complex on Hamilton Avenue, said someone fled on foot eastbound on Hamilton Avenue.

Shortly after the shooting, police cordoned off the immediate area and interviewed several people, Sullivan said. By late afternoon, police narrowed the suspect list to a person of interest and soon after, Cai was apprehended.