DIAMOND BAR, Calif. — A caretaker entrusted with protecting elderly women at a Diamond Bar senior living facility has been found guilty of murdering two residents in his care, nearly three years after the killings shocked the community.
Jianchun Li, 43, was working as a live-in caretaker at Happy Homes Care, a facility operating out of a home on the 23800 block of Sapphire Canyon Road, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Neighbors told KTLA that as many as six people were living at the property around the time of the killings.
Prosecutors said Li was working an overnight shift on June 24, 2023, when he took two elderly residents into the same bathroom and killed them within roughly half an hour of each other.
Two Elderly Women Killed Inside the Home
The first victim was identified as Monica Moon Lee, 75, who used a walker.
According to prosecutors, shortly before 7 a.m., Li escorted Lee into the bathroom. Authorities said he then placed a plastic bag over her head, wrapped electrical tape around her neck and strangled her.
About 30 minutes later, prosecutors said Li took another resident, Hee Sook Park, 83, into the same bathroom.
Park was allegedly killed in the same manner.
The two women had been among the vulnerable residents entrusted to the facility’s care, making the circumstances particularly disturbing to prosecutors and the victims’ loved ones.
Firefighters and authorities responded to the home later that morning. Emergency personnel attempted lifesaving measures, but both women were pronounced dead at the scene.
Motive Remains Unclear
Li was formally charged with the two murders on June 27, 2023.
Despite the investigation and subsequent prosecution, authorities did not establish a clear motive for the killings.
The case remained in the legal system for more than three years before a jury reached its verdict.
On August 20, 2026, jurors found Li guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. They also found true the special circumstance allegation involving multiple murders, an important finding that affects the potential punishment he faces.
Jury Rejects Insanity Defense
The case continued into a separate sanity phase after the murder convictions.
On August 27, 2026, the jury delivered its verdict in that phase and rejected Li’s not guilty by reason of insanity defense.
The decision means Li remains responsible for the two murders and could face the maximum punishment available in the case.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman praised the jury’s decision and emphasized the responsibility Li had toward the women.
“Three years ago, Monica Moon Lee and Hee Sook Park’s lives were brutally taken by Jianchun Li, the very person expected to keep them safe,” Hochman said.
He thanked jurors for holding Li responsible and finding him sane when he decided to kill the two women.
Caretaker Faces Life Without Parole
Hochman also said prosecutors hope the verdict brings some measure of closure to the victims’ loved ones and the Diamond Bar community.
“Justice was served and Li will be held fully accountable for his horrific and senseless crimes,” Hochman said.
Li’s conviction now moves the case toward sentencing.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 3, 2026, where Li faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
For the families of Lee and Park, the sentencing will mark another major step toward the conclusion of a case that began with the deaths of two elderly women who were supposed to be safe in the care of someone they trusted.
The conviction establishes Li’s criminal responsibility for both killings, while the upcoming sentencing will determine the final punishment.
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