Chinese herbalist's family of 3 killed, man arrested

A popular practitioner of Chinese herbal medicine was found shot to death and wrapped in plastic along with his wife and 5-year-old daughter in their palatial two-story home in upscale Santa Barbara County. More than 170 miles to the south, a 27-year-old suspect was arrested in the San Diego area where he lives.
What connected the two men remains largely unclear. Authorities said only that the two were recently involved in a business deal, and that financial gain could have been involved in the slayings.
Pierre Haobsh, 27, of Oceanside was taken into custody at gunpoint at a gas station in San Diego County, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bob Brown said Friday.

Investigators with an arrest warrant had been following a red Lexus that belonged to him, Brown said. A loaded handgun and property belonging to one of the victims was found inside the car, the sheriff said.
Deputies who went to check on the welfare of 57-year-old Weidong "Henry" Han on Wednesday found the bodies of the physician, his 29-year-old wife, Huijie "Jenni" Yu, and the couple's 5-year-old daughter, Emily Han, in the family's multimillion-dollar home on the outskirts of Santa Barbara.
Their bodies were found shot, wrapped in plastic and duct-taped in the garage, a sheriff's statement said. They had last been seen the night before they were found.

"This investigation is far from over," Brown said. "It is complex and ongoing."

Two business associates of Han went to his home after he failed to show up for a meeting something they told authorities was highly uncharacteristic of him. The associates called authorities when they found the front door ajar and the family's cars parked outside.
Authorities didn't say what led them from the palatial two-story home that sits on 7 acres surrounded by avocado trees to the Oceanside area, where Haobsh was arrested, more than 170 miles to the south.
Haobsh is a US citizen, authorities said, but few other details about him were released.

Nadine Jolie Courtney, a beauty blogger and author, wrote in an email message yesterday that Haobsh was her brother. She condemned the killings and extended her prayers to the Han family.
"We cannot wrap our minds around this tragedy and are in a state of shock," she wrote on behalf of herself and her husband.