Contra Costa man charged with murder of wife and mother-in-law

(KRON) — Howard Wang, 43, appeared in Contra Costa Superior Court on Tuesday, facing two counts of murder with special circumstances for the deaths of his wife and mother-in-law in Walnut Creek last Thursday.

Wang did not enter a plea during his court appearance, and he is scheduled to return to court on October 3. He remains in custody in Martinez.

“We have a family that is now shattered, and we also have a community that is grieving,” said Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton. “We certainly hope that we can do everything in our power to bring justice in this situation.”

Despite reports of gunfire at the scene, Becton confirmed that the victims were killed with a bladed instrument, though she did not specify whether it was a knife.

Wang had been arrested previously for dissuading a witness and making a criminal threat, but charges were not filed due to insufficient evidence.

Family members of the victims attended the court hearing but declined to speak with reporters.

If convicted, Wang faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.