Two charged over killings of Chinese students in LA

LOS ANGELES, May 23 – Two men suspected in the killings of two Chinese students were charged on Tuesday with capital murder. Both may face the death penalty.

Bryan Barnes, 20, and Javier Bolden, 19, were both expected to be arraigned after 1:30pm local time (2030 GMT) in the criminal courts in downtown Los Angeles.

They are charged with the killings of Qu Ming and Wu Ying, both 23 and second-year graduate electrical engineering students studying in the University of Southern California (USC).

Wu and Qu were shot and killed near the USC campus at around 1am local time (0800 GMT) on April 11, while sitting in a car on the 2700 block of Raymond Avenue, where the female victim lived.

The suspects, who were arrested last Friday and remain jailed without bail, were also charged with the attempted murder of a 20-year-old man during a December 3 party in South Los Angeles.

Barnes is also charged with a third count of attempted murder during another South Los Angeles party on February 12.

Earlier last week, the parents of the two Chinese students filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the USC.