Irvine husband charged with murder in run-down, stabbing of man police say he thought was love rival

A 38-year-old Irvine engineer suspected of running over and stabbing to death a man he believed was having an affair with his wife was charged with murder Tuesday, the Orange County district attorney’s office said.

Hongli Sun was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon and faces a special-circumstances allegation of lying in wait and sentencing enhancements for great bodily injury and the personal use of a deadly weapon.

According to the Irvine Police Department, Sun was in a parking lot at 4980 Barranca Pkwy. at about 1:20 p.m. Saturday when he saw a man, identified later by coroner’s officials as Xuan Liu, 54, of Irvine. Liu worked as a dentist at an office in the area, according to state medical board records.

Police say Sun drove his Mercedes-Benz SUV at Liu, intentionally hitting him. When Liu tried to stand up, police say, Sun got out of the car and stabbed him. Liu died at the scene, according to the Orange County coroner’s office.

A female associate of Liu’s also was stabbed when she tried to intervene, but she is expected to survive, police said.

Sun and Liu both went through divorce proceedings last year, though with different outcomes, according to court records.

Sun recently reconciled with his wife after he filed papers Sept. 22 to dissolve their marriage. Court records show that the couple asked a judge to halt the divorce process on March 27, the day it was scheduled to take effect.

“Our differences are reconciled; our marital breakdown is remediated,” the couple wrote in a joint filing before asking the judge to approve their request immediately.

“For a host of personal, cultural and religious reasons, we do not want any public record to reflect that we are divorced,” they said. “Even if such record is later changed, a harmful stigma could result.”

An Orange County Superior Court judge vacated the divorce in April.

Liu’s wife filed for divorce on Sept. 30, and it was finalized this year. She also was working in a dental office at 4980 Barranca Pkwy., according to court papers from last year.

Both couples cited irreconcilable differences in their divorce papers and offered no further explanation.

According to the filings, Sun is an engineer in Irvine for hard-drive manufacturer Western Digital.

Records show that Sun and his wife were married in Singapore 12 years ago and have an 8-year-old son.

Liu and his ex-wife were married in China 27 years ago and have a 13-year-old son, according to their filing.

Sun is being held without bail and was expected to appear in court Tuesday, prosecutors said. If he is convicted on all charges, Sun could receive a minimum sentence of life in prison without parole, according to district attorney’s office. Prosecutors could also seek the death penalty.

Police asked that anyone with information about the case call Det. Karie Davies at (949) 724-7131.

[For the record: Xuan Liu was 54. The original version of this post incorrectly reported his age as 34.]