Man accused of killing 2 in Palm Desert domestic stabbing will answer to murder charges: judge

A man accused of stabbing his wife and another man in what authorities called a domestic violence confrontation at a Palm Desert hotel parking lot will answer to murder charges, a judge ruled Friday.

Kenny Shun Yu Wu, 34, of Palm Desert, pleaded not guilty in August to two counts of murder which include a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, along with sentencing enhancements for use of a firearm and intentional murder.

Wu was arrested July 17 and booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center after being treated at a hospital for what authorities initially described as critical injuries.

He was being held without bail.   

Defense attorney John Patrick Dolan said Wu's wife was cheating on him.

"He discovered that his wife was involved in extramarital affair. And for several months before this event, they had been having fights," Dolan said.

Dolan said the case should be tried differently. "He tried to kill himself at the same stabbing himself in the carotid arteries on both sides of his neck and was found crying over his wife's body."

"This is really a manslaughter case. What they call a heat of passion or sudden quarrel case. But it's charged right now as a first degree murder. And until we get through the preliminary motions, it's potentially a death penalty case, which is not right for this case, in these circumstances," Dolan said.

Deputies from the sheriff's Palm Desert station responded to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon in the parking lot of the SpringHill Suites hotel in the 72300 block of Highway 111 on the morning of July 15, Riverside County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Ben Ramirez said.

In the parking lot, deputies found a man and a woman, who were pronounced dead at the scene within minutes of the deputies' arrival, Ramirez said. Wu was found alive with blunt force trauma to his body and taken to a hospital.  

Wu's next hearing is set for November 4.