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This happened in an area where homes cost well in excess of $1 million.
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HILLSBOROUGH Woman, 58, IDd as victim in home invasion 2 Asian men sought; Hillsborough police say little on killing
Demian Bulwa, Kelly St. John, Chronicle Staff Writers
Authorities identified on Sunday a woman slain in a brutal home- invasion attack in Hillsborough as a 58-year-old mother named Priscilla Ng.
Police in the tony enclave were tight-lipped about the crime Sunday, saying they know of no clear motive for the assault, which occurred early Saturday morning in Ng's sprawling brick home. Police said they were searching for "two Asian male subjects" in connection with the crime and no arrests had been made.
Intruders entered Ng's home at 2545 Butternut Drive about 4 a.m. and assaulted Ng and an acquaintance, Andrew Chang, in the home's master bedroom, Hillsborough police Capt. Mark O'Connor said in a statement.
Nearly three hours after the intruders reportedly entered the home, Chang phoned 911 at 6:52 a.m. to report he had been robbed and stabbed, police said. When authorities arrived, they found Ng suffering from severe injuries, and she died at the scene.
An autopsy was conducted Sunday, but the cause of death was not released pending further investigation, said San Mateo County coroner's investigator Felipe Fernandez.
After the attack, Chang was transported to a local hospital, where he told investigators that "two Asian male subjects" had committed the assault, O'Connor said.
Authorities initially reported that Ng's 13-year-old daughter might have been abducted and issued a statement Saturday afternoon saying she may have been taken from the home by her father, Stephen Ng, in his Lexus. No mention was made at the time of the homicide.
The girl "was later found to be well and in the safe custody of her father," O'Conner said in the statement released Sunday. Police offered no further information about the bulletin.
According to property records, Priscilla and Stephen Ng had purchased the 5,480-square-foot home on Butternut -- which has seven bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms -- in 1994 for $1,125,000. The couple -- who owned other properties together -- have been in divorce proceedings since 1999. According to court records, they were scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for a hearing.
Stephen Ng, contacted at his home in a different Hillsborough neighborhood Sunday, declined to talk about the situation.
"Not at this time," he said, in a soft, somber voice. "I have to take care of my daughter."
Unlike many other homes on the block, Priscilla Ng's home is not ringed by an electronic gate. On Sunday, the red brick and peach-colored house was quiet, with just a few cars parked out front. Meanwhile, police officers spent much of the late afternoon combing the bushes in front of the house.
Residents of the wealthy Peninsula enclave were shaken by news of a home- invasion killing, especially because violent crime in Hillsborough is so rare.
The last high-profile slaying in Hillsborough was the 1998 kidnap and murder of Sharon Leuenberger, by a man who once worked as a house cleaner for her.
In what authorities described as a botched kidnapping for ransom, Leuenberger was raped and smothered, and then the van containing her body was set afire. Ciriaco Valencia, now 28, was convicted of the crime in 2002 and is serving a sentence of life in prison without parole.
Outside Ng's Butternut home Sunday, neighbor Monica Hermes -- a 37-year- old accounting assistant on a walk -- said she hoped the killing wasn't a random act of violence.
"If it was random, that's pretty scary," Hermes said. She said residents on Butternut who live in multimillion dollar homes do not socialize with each other. She said she doesn't know the names of any of her neighbors, and she has lived here since 1986.
"Sometimes nosy neighbors are good, but we don't have that here," Hermes said.
Across the street from Ng's house, Yashar Erler, a 54-year-old civil and structural engineer who also works as a real estate agent, was conducting an open house. Erler is trying to sell his 5,000-square-foot villa with five bedrooms, three and a half baths, bay views, three fireplaces, and a tennis court for about $2.8 million. Erler said he considered calling off the open house because of the slaying, but he said hopefully "sometimes people come just for curiosity."
"This is one of the safest neighborhoods in the entire Bay Area," said Erler, as he set off to post an open house sign at the curb. "And one of the best and top locations."
E-mail the writers at [email protected] and [email protected].
Stay armed, stay alert, stay alive.
HILLSBOROUGH Woman, 58, IDd as victim in home invasion 2 Asian men sought; Hillsborough police say little on killing
Demian Bulwa, Kelly St. John, Chronicle Staff Writers
Authorities identified on Sunday a woman slain in a brutal home- invasion attack in Hillsborough as a 58-year-old mother named Priscilla Ng.
Police in the tony enclave were tight-lipped about the crime Sunday, saying they know of no clear motive for the assault, which occurred early Saturday morning in Ng's sprawling brick home. Police said they were searching for "two Asian male subjects" in connection with the crime and no arrests had been made.
Intruders entered Ng's home at 2545 Butternut Drive about 4 a.m. and assaulted Ng and an acquaintance, Andrew Chang, in the home's master bedroom, Hillsborough police Capt. Mark O'Connor said in a statement.
Nearly three hours after the intruders reportedly entered the home, Chang phoned 911 at 6:52 a.m. to report he had been robbed and stabbed, police said. When authorities arrived, they found Ng suffering from severe injuries, and she died at the scene.
An autopsy was conducted Sunday, but the cause of death was not released pending further investigation, said San Mateo County coroner's investigator Felipe Fernandez.
After the attack, Chang was transported to a local hospital, where he told investigators that "two Asian male subjects" had committed the assault, O'Connor said.
Authorities initially reported that Ng's 13-year-old daughter might have been abducted and issued a statement Saturday afternoon saying she may have been taken from the home by her father, Stephen Ng, in his Lexus. No mention was made at the time of the homicide.
The girl "was later found to be well and in the safe custody of her father," O'Conner said in the statement released Sunday. Police offered no further information about the bulletin.
According to property records, Priscilla and Stephen Ng had purchased the 5,480-square-foot home on Butternut -- which has seven bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms -- in 1994 for $1,125,000. The couple -- who owned other properties together -- have been in divorce proceedings since 1999. According to court records, they were scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for a hearing.
Stephen Ng, contacted at his home in a different Hillsborough neighborhood Sunday, declined to talk about the situation.
"Not at this time," he said, in a soft, somber voice. "I have to take care of my daughter."
Unlike many other homes on the block, Priscilla Ng's home is not ringed by an electronic gate. On Sunday, the red brick and peach-colored house was quiet, with just a few cars parked out front. Meanwhile, police officers spent much of the late afternoon combing the bushes in front of the house.
Residents of the wealthy Peninsula enclave were shaken by news of a home- invasion killing, especially because violent crime in Hillsborough is so rare.
The last high-profile slaying in Hillsborough was the 1998 kidnap and murder of Sharon Leuenberger, by a man who once worked as a house cleaner for her.
In what authorities described as a botched kidnapping for ransom, Leuenberger was raped and smothered, and then the van containing her body was set afire. Ciriaco Valencia, now 28, was convicted of the crime in 2002 and is serving a sentence of life in prison without parole.
Outside Ng's Butternut home Sunday, neighbor Monica Hermes -- a 37-year- old accounting assistant on a walk -- said she hoped the killing wasn't a random act of violence.
"If it was random, that's pretty scary," Hermes said. She said residents on Butternut who live in multimillion dollar homes do not socialize with each other. She said she doesn't know the names of any of her neighbors, and she has lived here since 1986.
"Sometimes nosy neighbors are good, but we don't have that here," Hermes said.
Across the street from Ng's house, Yashar Erler, a 54-year-old civil and structural engineer who also works as a real estate agent, was conducting an open house. Erler is trying to sell his 5,000-square-foot villa with five bedrooms, three and a half baths, bay views, three fireplaces, and a tennis court for about $2.8 million. Erler said he considered calling off the open house because of the slaying, but he said hopefully "sometimes people come just for curiosity."
"This is one of the safest neighborhoods in the entire Bay Area," said Erler, as he set off to post an open house sign at the curb. "And one of the best and top locations."
E-mail the writers at [email protected] and [email protected].
