By Connor Adams Sheets
A Flushing man has been convicted of stabbing his roommate to death with a sword in September 2008.
After a 10-day trial, a jury found in Queens Supreme Court last week that Yu Ming Liu, 49, killed his former roommate, Francis Kuang Chun Wang, 43, with a 15-inch sword.
Wang rented a room in his apartment at 136-05 Sanford Ave. in Flushing to Liu for a time, and on Sept. 4, 2008, he called the police to request that Liu be removed from the premises, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Liu could not provide proof he lived there, so police asked him to leave, and since he had nowhere to go, he sat on the steps of a nearby building, and when Wang left his apartment later that day, Brown said Wang called Liu a “little mouse” and told him he could have him deported with one phone call.
Wang walked away and Liu fetched the sword from his car, Brown said. He returned to Wang’s apartment, let himself in with his key and waited for Wang to return, Brown said. When he opened the door just before midnight, Liu slashed him numerous times with the sword and stabbed him three times, Brown said.
After the attack, Liu called 911 and said he had killed someone, then waited outside the building for police to arrive, Brown said. The sword was found next to Wang’s body.
The jury heard evidence that Liu told police what he had done and DNA tests revealed that blood found on his clothing and hands was Wang’s.
Liu faces up to 25 years in prison for the crimes of first-degree manslaughter and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
“The jury’s verdict holds the defendant accountable for his actions and will likely result in him having to spend a good portion of his life behind bars for senselessly killing his former roommate. Hopefully, the victim’s family can find some degree of solace in this conviction,” Brown said.
Sentencing for Liu is scheduled for Sept. 8.
Reach reporter Connor Adams Sheets by e-mail at csheets@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
