The estranged wife of the so-called “Duck Sauce Killer” was indicted by a Queens grand jury on criminal possession of a weapon and other charges, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Friday, Sept. 2.
Dorothy Hirsch, 62, of 84th Road in Briarwood, is awaiting her arraignment in Queens Supreme Court after eight illegal weapons, six of them semi-automatic, as well as hundreds of rounds of ammunition were allegedly found inside her apartment in June.
She was separated from Glenn Hirsch, who committed suicide on Aug, 5 before a scheduled court appearance in the April 30 murder of delivery worker Zhiwen Yan in Forest Hills. Hirsch had allegedly been upset with the restaurant that Yan worked for, The Great Wall Restaurant in Forest Hills, where he had a long-running feud over duck sauce that led to the murder, earning Hirsch the moniker “Duck Sauce Killer.”
Dorothy Hirsch was indicted Thursday on nine counts of criminal possession of a weapon, eight counts of criminal possession of a firearm, and one count of unlawful possession of firearm ammunition.
According to the charges, on the afternoon of June 2, law enforcement officials executed a court-authorized search warrant at her home pursuant to the Yan murder investigation. The defendant’s late husband, who was prosecuted for gunning down the victim, was allegedly seen parked in front of the 84th Road residence immediately following the murder. Records indicate that defendant Dorothy Hirsch is the sole owner and occupier of the residence where the arsenal of weapons was found.
The search of her home resulted in the discovery of eight firearms stashed inside a closet. The recovered items included: one .357 magnum revolver, one 25 caliber semi-automatic pistol, one .38 caliber revolver, one .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol, one .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and three 9mm semi-automatic pistols, according to the charges.
The defendant does not have permits nor registration documentation to legally possess any of the weapons found in her home.
“As alleged, the defendant was found in possession of a cache of illegal weapons,” Katz said. “These deadly guns, which were recovered in an apartment that she alone owns and occupies, pose an inherent danger to countless nearby residents and the community at large. My Office will continue its relentless pursuit of illegal firearms that put Queens residents in harm’s way.”
Hirsch faces 15 years in prison if convicted.
