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San Jose woman charged with murder in mother’s stabbing

Cheryl Ann Yee was arrested Sunday after calling 911 to report the killing, police say

AuthorRobet Salonga, breaking news reporter, San Jose Mercury News. For his Wordpress profile. (Michael Malone/Bay Area News Group)
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SAN JOSE — Prosecutors have filed a murder charge against a woman accused of fatally stabbing her mother at their home last weekend, then calling police to report it, according to court documents.

Cheryl Ann Yee, 27, was charged Wednesday with killing 65-year-old Christine Mei Cheng-Yee on Sunday at a residence in the 4800 block of Springdale Drive. Yee was arraigned Wednesday, and has been held without bail at the Santa Clara County Main Jail.

According to police, Yee called 911 at 12:24 p.m. Sunday and told dispatchers that she killed her mother, and that she was hearing voices in her head. Responding officers encountered Yee when they arrived, and soon after found Cheng-Yee inside, suffering from serious stabbing injuries.

Cheng-Yee was pronounced dead at the home.

The murder charge filed Wednesday was also accompanied by allegations of aggravated circumstances, meant to seek a maximum prison term for Yee if she were to be convicted. According to the criminal complaint, those aggravating factors include assertions that the stabbing entailed “great violence” and indicated planning, that “the victim was particularly vulnerable,” that Yee “took advantage of a position of trust or confidence,” and that her actions “indicates a serious danger to society.”

The death marked San Jose’s third homicide of the year and the third stabbing, according to police and data compiled by this news organization. The city recorded nine homicides at this point in 2021.

Anyone with information about Sunday’s homicide can contact SJPD Detective Sgt. John Cary or Detective Jennifer Valosek at 408-277-5283 or leave a tip with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at svcrimestoppers.org.