Walnut Creek Double Murder Suspect Howard Wang Charged With Third Homicide In Southern California Execution Plot

Walnut Creek suspect Howard Wang is now charged with a third murder linked to a 2024 San Gabriel hit. Read about the consolidated triple homicide case.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 1, 2026, 4:22 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from the Los Angeles Times

A Deadly Expansion of the Case

A Walnut Creek man previously charged with the brutal 2025 murders of his wife and mother in law is now facing a third murder count connected to a separate execution in Southern California. The Contra Costa County district attorney’s office announced on March 31 that 43 year old Howard Wang has been charged in the June 2024 fatal shooting of Chengli Li in San Gabriel. Prosecutors allege that Wang collaborated with 33 year old Demarques James Pearl to plan the hit, traveling from Northern California to Los Angeles County to carry out the crime. The new charges significantly escalate the legal stakes for Wang, as the three homicide cases will now be consolidated and prosecuted together.

Connections Through a Complex Personal Web

The motive for the San Gabriel slaying appears to be rooted in a volatile personal dispute. According to investigators, the victim, Chengli Li, was the romantic partner of Yan Wang—Howard Wang’s girlfriend at the time. Yan Wang is also currently charged as an accessory in the separate Walnut Creek double murder case. Prosecutors contend that the 2024 killing was a premeditated conspiracy designed to eliminate Li. This revelation adds a new layer to the timeline of violence attributed to Wang, suggesting a pattern of lethal escalation that began in Southern California over a year before the deaths of his immediate family members.

The Kelobra Court Double Homicide

Wang’s initial arrest occurred in September 2025 following a 911 call reporting a disturbance at a residence on Kelobra Court in Walnut Creek. Officers arrived to find Wang’s wife, Linlin Guo, and her mother, Beimin Cheng, dead from apparent gunfire inside the family home. In addition to the murder counts, Wang was already facing allegations of making criminal threats against his wife in 2024 and preventing her from reporting crimes in 2023. His girlfriend, Yan Wang, is accused of acting as an accessory by helping him avoid capture, entering the crime scene to commit theft, and destroying mobile devices to hide digital evidence.