DA Seeks Death Penalty in Han Murder Case

Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley announced on Friday the death penalty will be sought against the man who murdered the Han family last year.

Pierre Haobsh is on trial for murdering Weidong “Henry” Han, his wife Jennie, and their five-year-old daughter Emily in their Goleta home March of 2016.

According to KEYT News, Dudley told Superior Court Judge Brian Hill, “Assuming he is found guilty of the crimes he is accused of committing, he should be sentenced to the most severe punishment under California’s law which is the death penalty.”

This is the first time Dudley has requested a death penalty sentence since taking office in June of 2010.

Haobsh was arrested in San Diego County after the Han family was discovered. He’s an alleged business partner of Han, who ran the Santa Barbara Herb Clinic on State Street, but it’s unclear what type of business partnership they were involved in.

According to reports, a “gag order” will potentially be put in place to prevent anyone involved in the case from talking to the press in order to limit potential bias from the community.  

The next scheduled court date for Haobsh is September 19.