New at 5, the man accused of fatally beating an 88-year-old woman known as Grandma Wong in San Francisco back in 2019 has now been found guilty. KTVU’s Christian Captain joins us live from San Francisco’s criminal court. And Christian, that suspect was found guilty of murder and nearly two dozen other crimes against people of Asian ancestry. Yeah, exactly right. That defendant pleading not guilty, denying responsibility for more than a half dozen instances, including the murder of Grandma Wong. The vicious attack in January 2019 in Visitation Valley on 88-year-old Yik Oi Huang, known affectionately as Grandma Huang, sent shockwaves through San Francisco. Grandma Huang died from her injuries about a year after the attack. Police arrested Keonte Gathron, now 25 years old, and said he was responsible for a spree of attacks on teens and elderly people of Asian ancestry. Gathron denied the allegations and wound up representing himself in court. And now a jury has found him guilty of murder and numerous other charges. We also tied Mr. Gathron to a number of incidents involving carjackings and robberies that happened in the weeks leading up to Ms. Wang’s murder and also the weeks following, including armed robberies. And so, yes, the jury has come back finding him guilty of multiple incidents. While the victims are all of Asian ancestry, prosecutors argued the motive was financial gain. Grandma Huang’s family said the guilty verdict brings some closure. What they hope is that it will help some people feel safe in their communities. The message I think, we hope that this case, my grandma’s case, will bring I hope that this case on kosher will bring out a good message to the committee and all the people Advocates for Asian American justice hope that the case shows that the city is taking seriously the idea of accountability. To me, the guilty verdict is it’s a moment of truth, it’s long overdue, and it validates what our community has been fighting for. And Gathron is set to appear in court later this month for sentencing. He faces life in prison.
