Walnut Creek: Double homicide house was burglarized again, police say

WALNUT CREEK — Police here have arrested a 36-year-old man after identifying him as the latest burglar to target the home where a woman and her mother were recently stabbed to death, court records show.

The 36-year-old Concord resident was arrested on Oct. 7 and subsequently released from jail. Prosecutors haven’t charged him. Authorities say that a police detective identified him from video surveillance as one of two burglars who, on Sept. 25, entered the home on Kelondra Court where 43-year-old Howard Wang allegedly killed his wife, Linlin Guo, 41, and her mother, Beimin Cheng, before calling 911 and reporting an intruder was responsible.

The double homicide occurred on the night of Sept. 18, and Howard Wang was quickly identified as the suspect and arrested, court records show. The next day, he allegedly called a woman with whom he was having an affair, Yan Wang, 45, and instructed her to break into the home, steal evidence, and dispose of it. A police surveillance team caught her throwing bags of items from her vehicle in Oakland, authorities said.

This latest burglary doesn’t appear to be part of the alleged cover-up, but rather a crime of opportunity. Police say the 36-year-old Concord man and a woman, who authorities haven’t identified, were seen entering the home and leaving on bicycles, with suitcases full of stolen items. A detective identified the Concord man from a prior investigation, from June, where he allegedly stole a rental vehicle.

Both Howard Wang and Yan Wang — their shared last name is a coincidence, say police — were remanded to custody and are awaiting trial, court records show. Earlier this week, family members of the victims started an online fundraiser in their memory, which describes Guo as a mother of two girls. The effort had raised more than $37,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.