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73-Year-Old Queens Man Charged in Girlfriend's Death, DA Says

By Kathleen Culliton | August 23, 2016 7:02pm | Updated on August 24, 2016 5:38pm
 Chitwah Tse, who tried jumping off a ledge in TriBeCa two days after his girlfriend's death, has been charged with her murder, police said.
Chitwah Tse, who tried jumping off a ledge in TriBeCa two days after his girlfriend's death, has been charged with her murder, police said.
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Courtesy of bystander

QUEENS — A 73-year-old man who tried to jump off a TriBeCa building after he became a suspect in the murder of his live-in girlfriend was officially charged in her death Tuesday, according to police and the Queens District Attorney's office. 

Chitwah Tse was charged with murdering his girlfriend Huizhen Zhan, 61, whose body was found covered in cuts and a blood-soaked sheet Aug. 1 in the home the couple shared on 65th Avenue near Parsons Boulevard, according to prosecutors.

“The defendant is accused of fatally bludgeoning the woman with whom he shared an apartment and a life together,” said District Attorney Richard Brown in a statement Wednesday. “He now faces serious charges that could lead to him spending the rest of his life behind bars if convicted.”

The last person to see or hear Zhan alive was a neighbor who heard loud banging shortly after midnight on Aug. 1 and later in the day witnessed Tse leaving the apartment alone, according to the DA.   

Later the same day, 107th precinct police received a tip at 7:15 p.m. that they might find a body in the basement apartment at 65th Street. 

When police broke down the apartment doors, they found Zhan’s body lying on a bed surrounded by broken glass, the DA said. There was also blood on the bedroom walls and ceiling, in the shower and on the toilet.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled that Zhan’s death was the result of blunt force trauma to the head and ruled it to be a homicide.

Tse was found two days later teetering on a 22nd-story ledge at 401 Broadway in Tribeca and threatened to commit suicide, according to the DA.

Tse remained on the ledge for four hours until 6:10 p.m. when police pulled him to safety and he was transferred to Bellevue Hospital, the D.A. said.

Police observed cuts and scratches on his fingers, hands and chest, the DA said.

Tse pleaded not guilty to one count of murder at his arraignment Tuesday evening in Queens Criminal Court and faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted, said the DA. 

Tse was held without bail and is expected to return to court on Sept. 27.

Garo Kapikian, whose firm is representing Tse in court, described him as a Chinese immigrant who had never showcased violent behavior in his previous marriage. His wife recently died of cancer and Kapikian suggested her death had a toll on Tse.

“The tragic part is evident,” said Kapikian.  “But there are more facts to this case than one would think.”