Altamonte Springs police video shows man accused of slashing wife’s throat arrested
By: Altamonte Springs police released video on Monday showing the arrest of a man who they say admitted to slashing his wife’s throat and then holding her hand while she died.
The video shows the arrest of Xichen Yang, 21. Yang was arrested at his home on Ballard Street Tuesday.
The video opens with an officer arriving at Goldelm at Charter Pointe Apartments. In the video, the officer joins several others with their weapons drawn and pointed at Yang who is in the driver’s seat of a red Subaru.
The officers order Yang out of the vehicle with his hands up, the video shows. He is handcuffed without incident and placed in a cruiser.
Police said they were called to the apartment complex by Yang’s employer. The man said the 21-year-old had confessed to killing his wife when the employer called to see why he was late for work.
Officers said they got a key from the leasing office and entered Yang’s apartment.
Inside, officers said they found the victim — Nhu Quynh Pham — in the bathroom laying in a pool of blood with her throat slashed. Investigators said they also found disinfectant and rubber gloves used for cleaning.
When police questioned Yang, he admitted to slashing the woman’s throat, according to the arrest report. Yang said the woman began crawling away after the attack, so he placed her in the bathtub, records show.
Yang said he then put on his wife’s favorite music and held her hand for about 10 minutes as she died, according to police.
Officers said Yang told them he could have stopped short of killing his wife but that was “not how he was raised” and he always “goes all the way.”
Yang faces charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.