Fingernail scrapings help lead to conviction of 2 men in 2018 south Sacramento murder
Two Sacramento men, an uncle and his nephew, were convicted of murder during the course of a 2018 burglary targeting marijuana grow equipment in south Sacramento.
David and Lai Saechao were found guilty Monday by a Sacramento Superior Court jury for the murder of Guofang Wang, 59, on June 24, 2018. The jury also found true the special circumstance that the murder was committed during a burglary, according to a news release Tuesday by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
The two men broke into Wang’s home in the 6300 block of Burns Way, according to the DA’s news release. The victim was home, and the two assaulted him. Wang died of blunt force injuries and strangulation, according to the news release.
The victim “bit David Saechao and scratched Lai Saechao” during the deadly assault, the news release said.
The DA’s crime lab analyzed DNA from blood at the crime scene and Wang’s “fingernail scrapings,” positively matching them to the two defendants, according to the news release.
Lai Saechao, 35, is David’s uncle, sheriff’s officials confirmed to The Sacramento Bee at the time of the former suspect’s August 2018 arrest. David Saechao, now 26, was arrested in connection with the homicide days after he was taken into custody for charges stemming from a separate burglary on July 19, as The Bee reported at the time.
David and Lai Saechao each face a maximum of life in prison with no parole. Lai Saechao is scheduled for sentencing Dec. 27 and David Saechao on Feb. 28.
This story has been updated to correct age of Lai Saechao.
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 11:26 AM.
