A readiness and settlement conference for an Oceanside man accused of murdering a Santa Barbara doctor and his family in 2016 has been continued until June in Santa Barbara Superior Court.
Pierre Haobsh, 31, faces a trial on three first-degree murder charges and special allegations in the deaths of Dr. Weidong “Henry” Han, 57; his wife, Huijie “Jennie” Yu, 29; and their 5-year-old daughter, Emily.
In March 2016, all three were discovered dead in their home near Goleta, authorities said. The victims’ bodies were found wrapped in plastic and bound with duct tape in the garage of their home after Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies responded to a check-the-welfare call.
According to the Coroner’s Bureau, all three died of gunshots to the head.
Haobsh was seated in a solo room at the Santa Barbara County Jail during the virtual court proceeding in Santa Barbara Superior Court on Thursday. He appeared on screen wearing an orange-colored County Jail shirt, blue pants and black glasses.
Attorneys for both sides also participated remotely during the hearing held on the video conferencing service Zoom because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Haobsh is being represented by Public Defender’s Office attorneys Christine Voss and Michael Hanley.
Thursday’s hearing was finished in about three minutes after a date was set.
The next court date is a readiness and settlement conference scheduled for June 3 in Superior Court Judge Brian Hill’s courtroom.
“I assume Judge (Brian) Hill will be back on that day,” Voss told Superior Court Judge Michael Carrozzo, who presided over Thursday’s court hearing.
The last day for trial in the case against Haobsh is January 2022, Carrozzo said.
Haobsh has been held without bail in the Santa Barbara County Jail.
Details for the case, including the murders of Han, the founder of the Santa Barbara Herb Clinic on State Street, his wife and their daughter, as well as Haobsh’s arrest emerged during the preliminary hearing in 2017.
Police in San Diego County arrested Haobsh two days after Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies found the three bodies.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office decided to pursue the death penalty in the case, and Haobsh has pleaded not guilty to the charges at a 2016 hearing.
Hilary Dozer and Benjamin Ladinig are prosecuting the case for the District Attorney’s Office.
Criminal trials recently began for Santa Barbara County Superior Court, with COVID-19 safety precautions in place.
Since March last year, criminal trials were suspended in Santa Maria and only a couple occurred in Santa Barbara because of COVID-19 concerns.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.