Former Girlfriend Gets Life in Murder

College honors student Helen Mo was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole for the murder of a former boyfriend whose burned body was dumped in Irvine.

Helen Mo, 20, was in her first year at Rio Hondo College in Whittier when she and three other people were arrested in the January 2000 slaying of fellow student Yichen Liu. Prosecutors said Mo feared Liu would turn her in for stealing his jewelry. His burned body was found in the trunk of his car.

Mo was sentenced after being convicted last year of one count of first-degree murder and one count of lying in wait.

Prosecutors said she had dated Liu for a brief time and feared he would turn her in for stealing two bracelets, a necklace and credit card. She had two previous burglary convictions and faced a three-strikes sentence of 25 years to life if convicted again.

“She planned to have him murdered so that she would not have to go to jail,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Deborah Lloyd said.

After Liu discovered the theft, he went to Mo’s home, authorities said. He was beaten and stabbed by Mo’s new boyfriend and two of his friends, prosecutors said, then stuffed in the trunk of his car, which was driven to a remote area and set on fire.

Mo testified during the trial that she did not know the others intended to kill Liu. She also said that when she was 17, a boyfriend began committing crimes for thrills and lured her into the lifestyle.

Li Da Liang, 19, and Sonny Joshua Wong, 24, are awaiting trial on murder charges later this year. Lim Cheng, 24, is expected to be retried after a jury deadlocked last year.

Mo was a management student when Liu was killed. He was taking business classes.

Liu came to the United States in 1998 to study and help his Taiwanese parents run an import business. He tutored Mo in math before they became romantically involved.