A Flushing woman faces 25 years to life in prison after being convicted of murder on Friday for killing her immigration attorney in 2022. The attorney had dropped her as a client shortly before she fatally stabbed him.
Xiaoning Zhang,27, of Kissena Boulevard, was found guilty by a jury of killing Jim Li, who was renowned for his legal work and was an activist during the Tiananmen Square uprising in China in 1989. Trial openings began on Sept. 9, 2024, and closings occurred on Sept. 19, 2024. The jury deliberated for one day.
According to the trial records, on March 11, 2022, police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing responded to a 911 call of an assault in progress at the law offices of Jim Li and Associates at 136-56 39th Ave. Zhang was insistent that Li, who was handling her asylum request pro bono, also work to have a photo of her at a United Nations protest removed from the internet. Li told her he could not do that, which enraged her. Zhang then admitted to Li that she had lied on her asylum application about being raped by Beijing police in China. Li then told Zhang he would no longer represent her in the immigration matter.
“Jim Li was a renowned immigration attorney in Flushing and [a] hero for his actions in Tiananmen Square,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “After meeting with Xiaoning Zhang, he agreed to represent her pro bono in her immigration matters. When the defendant’s demands and lies about her circumstances became apparent, Li told Zhang he could no longer represent her.”
Zhang was asked to leave the premises, but Zhang refused, according to records, and instead reacted by grabbing Li by the neck and choking him. Responding police escorted Zhang out of the building and reiterated that she was not to return.
According to trial records, three days later, on March 14, 2022, Zhang returned to Li’s fourth-floor office. She came armed with a paring knife and a larger kitchen knife. She confronted Li and repeatedly stabbed him in the chest and neck. A member of Li’s staff held Zhang until police arrived and placed her under arrest. EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed the 66-year-old immigration lawyer to Elmhurst Hospital Center. He later succumbed to his wounds and was pronounced dead.
“The defendant, filled with anger and animus, went to Li’s law practice several days later armed with two knives and repeatedly stabbed him,” Katz said. “A jury weighed the trial evidence and, after careful consideration, found this defendant guilty of this senseless murder.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder, who presided at the trial, scheduled sentencing for Oct. 2.
“We extend our condolences to Mr. Li’s many family members and friends, both in the legal community and around the world,” Katz concluded.
