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Listen to 911 Calls from Moments After SiPort Triple Homicide Friend speaks up for man accused of killing co-workers

Updated 7:56 AM PDT, Fri, Nov 21, 2008

Related Topics: Jing Hua Wu

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JIng Wu makes first appearance in court
NBC Bay Area

JIng Wu makes first appearance in court

 

The day after the man accused of killing three colleagues at a  Silicon Valley semiconductor company made his first court appearance, the San Jose Mercury News obtained three 911 calls made immediately following the shooting.

911 Tapes Tell Chilling Tale in Santa Clara

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Hear the first calls to 911 after the workplace triple shooting at SiPort Technology in Santa Clara.

Triple Murder Suspect Hangs Head in Court

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The man police say shot and killed three co-workers last Friday learns the charges he faces.

In the recordings, you can hear the caller immediately identify the suspect as Jing Hau Wu, the prime suspect in the case.  The unidentified man said the victims had been shot in the head.

The called said Wu had a gun and had left the building wearing a baseball cap and light colored clothing.  (Listen to the call here.)

The longest call was three minutes and 40 seconds. 

You can read some of the transcripts by clicking on this link.

JIng Hua Wu, 47,  he was arraigned on murder charges Wednesday.

He is charged with three counts of murder,  with a special allegation on each count that he personally used a firearm, as  well as the special circumstances charge of killing multiple victims, Deputy  District Attorney Jeff Rosen said.

Wu, shackled at his wrists and feet, in an orange jail clothing covered by a yellow  T-shirt, stood before Judge Jerome Nadler Wednesday. He looked down as cameras  leaned in, and Wu's Public Defender attorneys Michael Ogul and Ken Mandel  delayed entering a plea and waived time for a preliminary hearing.

Wu is described as extremely distraught. 

"He seems very sad.  Its natural for him to be very sad about the situation," said public defender Michael Ogul.

A woman who said she has known Wu for more than 10 year said she was shocked by the charges.

"Wu is very shy very nice person and very good to his family and his friends," Karen Cai said through an interpreter.

If convicted on all charges and special allegations, Wu could face  up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The special  circumstances charge also makes Wu eligible for the death penalty if the  District Attorney's Office decides to seek it, according to Rosen.

"It's a very careful process that takes us many months to decide,"  Rosen said.

Wu is charged with killing SiPort CEO Sid Agrawal, 56, of Fremont;  Vice President of Operations Brian Pugh, 47, of Los Altos; and Human  Resources Manager Marilyn Lewis, 67, of San Jose.

Wu was fired Friday morning from his job as an engineer in testing  and production at SiPort Inc., which makes chips for high-definition radios,  Santa Clara police Lt. Mike Sellers said.

The company fired Wu, who worked for SiPort for more than 2 years,  due to performance-related issues, according to the District Attorney's  Office.

Later that day, Wu contacted executives at the company to arrange  a meeting to discuss his separation from the company, according to Sellers.

"Obviously they didn't sense any kind of reason to be alarmed by  his behavior," Sellers said.

Rosen would not confirm that a meeting was arranged ahead of time,  but said Wu returned to the business at 3255 Scott Blvd., No. 7 later that  day.

Witnesses said they saw Wu entering Agrawal's office, where Wu  allegedly shot Pugh, Lewis and Agrawal with a 9 mm handgun.

Officers were called to the business on reports of multiple  gunshots and found Agrawal, Pugh and Lewis in Agrawal's office suffering from  fatal gunshot wounds.

Employees in the office at the time of the shooting were able to  quickly identify Wu as the shooter and reported that he was seen carrying a  handgun after they heard gunshots, the district attorney's office reported.

Wu allegedly fled the building before police arrived and was seen  driving away in a rented silver Mercury Mariner sport utility vehicle,  Sellers said.

After extensive searches, officers found Wu walking through a  parking lot in Mountain View Saturday morning. Police found a 9 mm handgun in  the trunk of Wu's rental car parked nearby.

Ros en said he would not comment on Wu's mental state, a possible  motive or anything else that could affect an investigation into the  shootings.

"I don't want to speculate about why the defendant murdered three  of his coworkers because I am ethically bound to preserve his right to a fair  trial and to allow the police to conduct a thorough and objective  investigation," Ros en said.

Outside the courtroom, Ogul said he and his co-counsel know little about the case so far.

Ogul would not comment on Wu's state of mind except to say his  client is "very sad."

"I think that it's natural for him to be very sad at this point,"  Ogul said.

Wu remains in Santa Clara County Jail on no bail status and is  scheduled to return to court Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. for further arraignment.

Meanwhile, memorial and funeral services have been set up in honor  of the victims.

A service for Agrawal was held this morning at the Lima Family  Milpitas-Fremont Mortuary, 48800 Warm Springs Blvd. in Fremont, mortuary  staff said.

In lieu of flowers, family members have requested donations be  sent to Ashish Agrawal for Sid Agrawal Memorial Fund, 47000 Warm Springs  Blvd., No. 140, Fremont, Calif. 94539, mortuary staff said.

A memorial and funeral service for Pugh will be held Friday at 1  p.m.

A memorial for Lewis will be held Thursday at 1 p.m.

Donations in Lewis' name can be mailed to the Greater Bay Area  Make a Wish Foundation, 235 Pine St., Sixth Floor, San Francisco, Calif.  94104. Lewis' name should be written on the check so the family can be  notified, staff said.

SiPort has established a fund through the Silicon Valley Community  Foundation. Donations to the fund can be mailed to Silicon Valley Community  Foundation, Attn: SiPort Memorial Fund, 2440 W. El Camino Real, Suite 300,  Mountain View, Calif. 94040. SiPort Memorial Fund should also be written on  the check memo line, staff said.

Comments (16)

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  • roman Saturday, Nov 22 at 7:18 AM FLAG COMMENT The families are devastated by grief,crying their eyes out.Dont send any flowers or such , send the good old green back.the money,the moolah, money makes the world go around.Its very comforting to know that the grevieng family of Mr. Agarwal has not lost touch with good old moolah,they want donations in the form of dollar bils. Mr, Agarwal would be very pleased,since all his life was spent chasing the almighty dollar.
  • roman Saturday, Nov 22 at 6:45 AM FLAG COMMENT Sending donations to Mr.Agrwal famiy ? For crying out loud, the guy was a millionaire,does his family needs DONATIONS.
  • Patricia Cope Friday, Nov 21 at 1:45 PM FLAG COMMENT Is the human race going stupid??? many, many of us have lost jobs while already a paycheck away from becoming homeless along with our children. You should be hold accountable for a horrible crime of that nature. And, if you are one of those people that thinks being a weak "nut job" and "snapping" justifies taking a human life (or more than one!), You might as well join the sicko's of this earth and become a member of a sociop ... MORE >
  • Maher Friday, Nov 21 at 1:40 PM FLAG COMMENT Since when does choosing enraged vengance mean that person is the victim? NONSENSE! I don't buy it. "Just snapped" doesn't work for me as a rationale esp when the resulting actions harm other people. A "nice guy" who kills people has relinquished that title. I faced many disappointments and even betrayals in life and I didn't kill or even think about killing anyone. Nor did I perform any violence except once when I w ... MORE >
  • ab Friday, Nov 21 at 1:00 PM FLAG COMMENT Momentary loss of friggin' mind isn't an excuse to kill people. But if you do, then you have to spend your entire life doing community service. No death penalty, but mandatory community service. Am sorry for the losses of all people involved. The trauma is unbelievable. Wu is lucky that he is a rich man and has so many people to give him the benefit of doubt. But what about the lives of the victims? Can anybody bring them back ... MORE >

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