4 More Held in Death of College Student

Four more people, including a man picked up in New York, have been arrested in connection with the death of a college student whose body was found in the trunk of a charred car in Irvine, police said Thursday.

Sonny Wong, 22, of La Puente had been wanted for questioning in the death of Yichen “Eric” Liu, a 20-year-old Rio Hondo College student whose charred remains were found Jan. 24. He will be extradited to Orange County, police said.

Irvine detectives also arrested Lim Cheng, 22, of Alhambra, who is in Los Angeles County Jail on drug charges; and two teens--a 16-year-old from El Monte and a 17-year-old from Rosemead.

The arrests were made over several days, beginning Feb. 24, Irvine Police Lt. Sam Allevato said.

Already charged in the case is Helen Mo, 18, of Monterey Park, also a student at Rio Hondo, authorities said.

Allevato said earlier that the crime stemmed from a dispute over personal property. Investigators have released no further details.

All five suspects are being held without bail, officials said, and will be arraigned in Orange County over the next several weeks.

The county district attorney’s office may try the juvenile suspects as adults, police said Thursday.

If convicted on charges of murder with special circumstances of torture, kidnapping or premeditation, all the suspects would be eligible for the death penalty, officials said.