A bizarre murder mystery unfolded in Chino Hills last week, where police say a man was abducted from his house by two brothers and placed in the trunk of a car. Police began a chase, which ended with one of the suspects shooting the victim in front of sheriff’s deputies before they fatally shot him.
Here is what we know:
What exactly happened?
Authorities allege that on Wednesday night, Jianquan Bo and his older brother, Zhengfeng Bo , drove more than 30 miles from their Irvine home to the 2100 block of Monteverde Drive in Chino Hills, where they shot Shukur Aikebaer and stuffed him into the trunk of their silver Nissan Altima.
“This was a calculated act of violence,” said San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus.
The brothers then led deputies on a high-speed chase for more than a mile before stopping in the 2400 block of Wandering Ridge Drive, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Dicus said deputies were not aware that anyone was in the trunk of the car during the traffic stop.
“Normally, law enforcement officers order people out of the car,” Dicus said, but Jianquan Bo got out of the car, drawing the focus of the deputies who struggled to communicate through a language barrier. It was during this confusion that Zhengfeng Bo, 67, allegedly exited the vehicle and shot the victim before being killed by gunfire from the deputies.
San Bernardino County Dist. Atty. Jason Anderson said the deputies fired only after Zhengfeng Bo shot the victim inside the trunk. Because the act that prompted the deputies to open fire was committed solely by the deceased suspect, Jianquan Bo could not be charged in connection with his brother’s death.
“We had to dust off our law books for this one,” Anderson said.
Bo and Aikebaer were pronounced dead at the scene.
Jianquan Bo, who was the passenger, was not injured and was taken into custody.
How were the men connected?
The exact details are not clear.
A preliminary investigation by homicide detectives with the Sheriff’s Department determined that Aikebaer was home with his family when there was a power outage, prompting him to go outside, where he was confronted by the two brothers.
They also said Zhengfeng Bo and Aikebaer knew each other “through a prior working relationship.”
Anderson said authorities are still trying to determine a motive for the kidnapping and shooting but suspect that the business relationship may have soured between the two men.
He said investigators would look at business records to find out “if there was a financial motive or was it just the result of a financial loss.”
What was the nature of the business?
In an interview with The Times, Michael Chen, who had been representing Zhengfeng Bo in a legal dispute over a $20-million apartment complex in Pasadena, said his client and Aikebaer were business associates at Panshi Inc., an Irvine-registered commercial real estate firm.
Public records list Bo as chief executive and Aikebaer as chief financial officer and secretary.
Chen said Bo, Panshi and another associate had loaned more than $2 million to the developers of an apartment complex, prompting lawsuits over unpaid debts and control of the property.
On July 27, Chen filed another claim against the developers, the Madison Collection LLC, seeking to oust its property managers and transfer control to Panshi.
A spokesperson for the company could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Madison Collection had been stonewalling these efforts for months, according to the lawsuit, refusing to turn over books and bank accounts.
Chen said Aikebaer had served as the “middleman” between Panshi and the developers, and until the day of the shooting, he believed the two men had a good relationship. There was nothing “adversarial” about it, he said.
“But obviously, something happened,” he said. “Maybe some information came to light that prompted [Bo] to take this action.”
What’s the status of the case?
Jianquan Bo was charged with murder. The charge was enhanced with a special circumstance because Aikebaer died during the commission of a kidnapping.
What do we know about the victim?
A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover funeral and life expenses for the Aikebaer family, which has now lost its sole provider. The organizers of the fundraiser described him as a loving husband and father to three daughters.
“No family should ever have to endure the heartbreak of losing somebody they love so suddenly and unexpectedly, especially in such a senseless act of violence,” organizers said in a statement. “He was caring, selfless, and the most loving person.”
Aikebaer’s daughter told CBS LA she has no clue why the men would target her dad, saying that her family is just as desperate for answers as the rest of the community.
“Nothing makes sense, it feels like a movie,” she said, fighting through tears. “I just wish this was a bad dream and I would wake up and he would be here.”
In an interview with the New York Times, family friend Adam Nijiati said that Aikebaer was part of a small Uyghur community where he resided with his wife and three daughters. Aikebaer immigrated to Southern California from China nearly 20 years ago, according to Nijiati, and has participated in several business ventures including flipping houses and opening a fast-food restaurant.