Ka Yang

Case record: Ka Yang

Background

Ka Yang was a mother of four, including her late daughter, Mirabelle Thao-Lo, and she had three other children who were under age 7 at the time of Mirabelle Thao-Lo’s death. At the time of her arrest, Yang was married. Yang had a history of seizures and had medical records that she said showed a pattern of seizures since she was 14 years old. At the time of the March 2011 death, Yang also worked for a local architectural firm.

The offence

Ka Yang was accused of killing her infant daughter, Mirabelle Thao-Lo, by putting the baby in a microwave and letting the child burn. Authorities said the child suffered “extensive thermal injuries.” Prosecutors said Yang placed Mirabelle in the microwave for as long as five minutes, and evidence presented in court indicated Yang was alone with her daughter for about 11 minutes during which time she put Marabelle (Mirabelle) in the microwave for 2-and-a-half to 5 minutes. Pathologists in proceedings leading up to trial and at trial said the child suffered burns covering 60 percent of her body, including radiation burns that penetrated her internal organs, and that the radiation from the microwave essentially cooked the child’s stomach and small intestine.

At least one allegation involved torture. A special allegation was that the murder was intentional and involved torture, which could make Yang eligible for the death penalty or life without parole if found true. Prosecutors also had a count of assault on a child causing great bodily injury leading to death.

Investigation

Sacramento County prosecutors and investigators rejected Yang’s claim that a seizure caused what happened. Yang initially told investigators that she blacked out while working on a computer with Mirabelle in her arms and woke up on the ground with the baby injured next to a space heater. Paramedics did not find her disoriented when they arrived. Detectives pointed out inconsistencies in Yang’s story. Investigators also found that the child was burned from head-to-toe, while her pajamas and hair were not singed, and a pacifier was found in the microwave. After inconsistencies were pointed out, Yang acknowledged she lied and said she might have a split personality.

Yang initially told family members and later first responders and detectives that she was holding her child while working on a computer when she lost consciousness, and that she awoke on the floor next to a space heater and found her daughter injured. When prosecutors later argued the case, they asserted there was no seizure the day Yang inserted Mirabelle Thao-Lo into the microwave, and they said Yang repeatedly lied to investigators about what caused the child’s death before detectives found a pacifier inside the kitchen’s microwave. One of the things Yang told detectives was that she dropped her baby on a space heater when she had a seizure. Investigators had not said how they believed the girl sustained the injuries, while forensic evidence from the scene was being processed and results were awaited.

Officer Laura Peck said: “We do have forensic evidence from the scene that is being processed and we’re waiting for the results of that evidence.”

Yang told CBS13 that she believed her current medication would control her condition and that her medical records showed seizures since she was 14 years old. After firefighters responded and found the girl dead and called police to investigate, the Sacramento County coroner ruled that Mirabelle died from burns on her body. Yang later avoided cameras during a follow-up interview when asked about the burns.

Yang said: “I never thought that with my seizure I will lose my little girl.”

After the verdict and conviction, a family spokesman said Yang’s mind was not in reality, and described her as gentle. Lao Paochoua Thao said: “There is no history of child abuse. She has no criminal history.” In a related statement after the verdict, Lao Paochoua Thao also said: “Her real mind was out of reality.”

Arrest and charges

Ka Yang was arraigned in a Sacramento Superior courtroom at the county Main Jail, where she had been held since her arrest. She did not enter a plea. The case was accepted on behalf of the Conflict Criminal Defenders office by attorney Linda Parisi.

Yang faced charges of murder and assault causing death to a child under the age of 8. She also faced a special circumstance that the murder was intentional and involved torture, which could make her eligible for the death penalty or life without parole if found true.

At a later point during pretrial proceedings, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Eugene Balanon found enough evidence to support the special allegation that she tortured her daughter.

Trial

Jurors convicted Yang in November of first-degree murder in the child’s death. A Dailymail.com account also reported that Yang had been convicted of first-degree murder and assault on a child in the death of her daughter, and that jurors rejected Yang’s argument that she had been in the middle of an epileptic seizure when she placed her daughter in the microwave. Another account said that on Friday jurors silently filed past the microwave oven into which Ka Yang placed her infant daughter in the kitchen of her family’s Robla-area home on March 17, 2011, and convicted the 34-year-old of first-degree murder and a second count of assault on a child causing great bodily injury leading to death. A trial process included three weeks of testimony and a day of deliberation before the verdict.

At trial, Linda Parisi argued that Yang unwittingly put her child in the microwave oven while in a post-seizure state of unconsciousness known as the “postictal state.” Parisi expressed doubts about Yang’s mental health and said there were psychological issues to be investigated.

Linda Parisi told reporters outside the courtroom: “I think there is no question there is clearly some psychological issues that will have to be investigated,” and in another statement said: “There is no history of child abuse. She has no criminal history,” and also said she believed Yang did not deliberately kill her daughter.

During a hearing in advance of trial, Deputy District Attorney Chris Ore suggested there was no seizure when Yang inserted Mirabelle Thao-Lo into the microwave, and pointed to a string of lies Yang told police after her daughter’s death.

A pathologist testified that the most serious burn was consistent with microwave exposure, including a radiation burn that penetrated internal organs and “cooked through” to the stomach and small intestine, and that the child would have suffered from severe pain throughout exposure.

Dr Gregory Reiber said: “cooked through” and that the injuries were consistent with microwave exposure. He also said the burns were consistent with microwave exposure and that the baby would have suffered from severe pain throughout the exposure.

The prosecution alleged that Yang placed the child in the microwave because she was being irritable and fussy and holding her back from her work.

A family spokesman described Yang as a “gentle, nice woman” who would not have intentionally harmed her child, saying: “Her real mind was out of reality,” and said Yang’s three surviving sons were staying with family members.

Sentencing

On December 18, 2015, Ka Yang was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison. The Sacramento Superior Court judge was identified as Judge Steve White, and sentencing before Judge Steve White was set for Dec. 18. Another report described the sentencing as life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Outcome

Ka Yang was found guilty of first-degree murder in November. The jury rejected Yang’s argument that she acted while in the middle of an epileptic seizure when she placed her daughter in the microwave.

Other details

Yang’s other three children were removed from the home the day their sister was found dead and were ordered into the custody of her grandparents. They were described as living with relatives.

During proceedings, it was reported that a microwave oven was treated as the murder weapon and that the child suffered burns from head-to-toe, with a pacifier found in the microwave and the child’s pajamas and hair not singed.