Flushing resident Haiyan Deng was sentenced in Queens Supreme Court on Wednesday to 27 years in prison for killing a man in her apartment and a related burglary in September 2021.
Deng, 34, of 39th Avenue, pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter in the first degree and burglary after first responders found 26-year-old Justin Li in her bed with a fatal gunshot wound to his head.
According to the charges and investigation, on the evening of Sept. 11, 2021, Deng unlawfully entered the home owned by the victim’s family in Bayside and attacked Li’s wife. Deng was subsequently issued a summons by law enforcement and later charged with burglary for the incident.
On the night of Sept. 19, 2021, first responders conducted a wellness check at Deng’s 39th Avenue apartment in Flushing after Li’s wife reported that he did not come home that evening. Upon arriving at Deng’s residence, the first responders found Li alone and unresponsive in Deng’s bed. He was bleeding from an apparent single gunshot wound to the head. No shell casings were found, but a fired bullet was recovered from the pillow on the bed. Video surveillance from that day showed the victim arriving at the location with Deng in his vehicle on Sept. 18. They were both observed walking into her building at approximately 5:40 a.m.
Nearly two hours later, Deng was seen leaving her building alone with multiple bags in hand, getting into the victim’s vehicle, and speeding away. Deng was apprehended in New Mexico on Sept. 22, 2021, after the car she was driving broke down on the side of the road. New Mexico State Troopers recovered personal property belonging to the victim and a loaded revolver from the car. The revolver was a ballistic match to the bullet recovered from the defendant’s bedroom. Deng was then extradited back to Queens to face charges.
“The defendant took the life of a young father and then fled in the victim’s car, hoping to escape,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “Thanks to the work of our law enforcement partners, the defendant was apprehended and extradited to New York, where she pleaded guilty to her crimes.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant sentenced Deg to a total of 27 years in prison — 22 years for the manslaughter charge and five years for the burglary charge to be served consecutively.
“Nothing can reverse the defendant’s actions,” Katz said. “But hopefully, today’s sentence will provide some comfort to the victim’s loved ones.”
