One of two in stabbing case moves to throw out charge

One of the two defendants who were arrested for their alleged involvement in the stabbing murder of a man on New Year’s Day has asked the Superior Court to dismiss the charges against her because she claims she did not receive adequate notice of the offense under which she was charged.

Yi Lyuqin, the girlfriend and reported accomplice of Kong Lingyang in the alleged murder of Li SongZhi, has filed a motion through her counsel, Matthew J. Holley, to dismiss the charge of accessory after the fact against her for insufficient information and for not receiving adequate notice of the offense under which she was charged.

In his argument, Holley explains that the specific allegation against his client was that she was an accessory after the fact for allegedly hiding the knife used to stab Li from police.

However, hiding a knife that was used in a crime, in and of itself, is an insufficient basis to maintain a charge of accessory after the fact, Holley argues.

“Merely hiding a knife is an insufficient basis to maintain a charge of accessory after the fact. The offense requires that Yi hide the knife in order to hinder or prevent the offender’s apprehension, trial, or punishment,” he said.

“What is glaringly missing from the allegation against Yi as an accessory after the fact [is] that she assisted the offender when she hid the knife. In fact, just the opposite occurred. Unbeknownst to the co-defendant, Yi hid the knife from him, pulling it out of his back pocket,” Holley added.

In addition, Holley said it is undisputed that Yi approached Department of Public Safety officers to cooperate, including showing them where the knife was, leading to its recovery.

“Most importantly, the information in this case fails to make any allegation that Yi hid the knife from the Commonwealth. To that there can be no dispute. Here, it is undisputed that the information does not allege that Yi hid the knife from the Commonwealth in an attempt to assist the offender,” he said.

Holley further argues that had the Commonwealth alleged Yi hid the knife from it, his client would understand what is needed to prepare her defense.

“But as alleged, the charging document does not apprise her of what evidence she must be prepared to meet. Because the information has not put Yi on notice of the conduct for which she was charged, she cannot adequately defend herself,” he said.

According to court documents, the couple was arrested in the early hours of Jan. 1, for their alleged involvement in the stabbing murder of Li.

Kong allegedly stabbed Li multiple times following an altercation between the two that stemmed from an altercation between their girlfriends.

Yi said in an interview that when she saw a pocket knife sticking out from Kong’s back pocket, she pulled it out and hid it behind a typhoon shutter near King’s Jewelry.