A 60-year-old man, Chuen Lau, has been sentenced to 19 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to the brutal murder of his sister in their Eldridge Street apartment.
He admitted to stabbing 57-year-old Mei Lin Lau in a fit of rage four years ago. The woman’s body was found in the bathtub. She had been stabbed more than 20 times in the torso and face. In January of this year, Mr. Lau pleaded guilty to second degree murder.
In a statement, District Attorney Cy Vance said, “Chuen Lau brutally murdered his own sister in a vicious act of domestic violence, stabbing and beating her to death in the apartment they shared before fleeing the scene. Ms. Liu was a beloved mother, sister, and aunt – and while this sentence cannot bring her back, I hope it brings a sense of closure to her loved ones.”
The siblings shared an apartment on Eldridge Street (between Broome and Grand streets). After the violent attack, Chuen Lau fled the apartment and checked into the U.S. Pacific Hotel on the Bowery. A day or two after the murder, a relative became concerned about Mei Lin Lau, and asked the fire department for help accessing the apartment. That’s wen her body was discovered in the tub. Cops located Mr. Lau at the hotel, where he was arrested and admitted to killing his sister. He said they’d been fighting about personal and financial issues.
