A 30-year-old Glendale man is accused of executing a Brea couple in October before setting their bodies and cars on fire in a crime tied to money he owed, and he could be eligible for the death penalty, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Huanting Gong faces two special circumstances murder charges along with kidnapping, arson and first-degree burglary charges. Under murder cases involving special circumstances, a committee convened by the prosecutor’s office will determine whether, if the defendant is convicted as charged, to pursue the death penalty or a maximum sentence of life without parole.
On Oct. 12, Gong is accused of meeting with 37-year-old Kuanlun Wang, a business associate whom he owed $80,000 to, the District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. The two set a meeting in the desert, where Gong allegedly shot Wang in the head before putting the man’s body back in his own Tesla and driving back to Wang’s home in Brea, authorities said.
At the house, Gong allegedly attacked Wang’s 37-year-old wife Jing Li with a hammer, forcing her to give him access to her phone’s password. He then reportedly put Li inside her own Tesla and drove to a desert area in San Bernardino County, where authorities said he shot the woman and burned her body.
