Suspect pleads guilty in setting building on fire that killed San Jose business owner
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Suspect pleads guilty in setting building on fire that killed San Jose business owner
Suspect Yessenia Estrada pleads guilty to crimes that left San Jose businessman Chris Tran dead from a fire. Family and friends packed a Santa Clara County courtroom as E strada pleaded guilty. EstrADA will be back for her sentencing on August 14 at 9 a.m. in San Jose. If she was charged with murder, she could have faced a life sentence depending on the court’s ruling.. Family said more needs to be done to address homelessness and mental health. But the nine-year-sentence is another systematic failure in their eyes, they said. “We heal first, we get justice for Chris and we have to change the process and the policies,” Tran’s friend Brian Clampitt said.
In a Santa Clara Co. courtroom Thursday, suspect Yessenia Estrada pleaded guilty to crimes that left San Jose businessman Chris Tran dead from a fire.
In a Santa Clara Co. courtroom Thursday, suspect Yessenia Estrada pleaded guilty to crimes that left San Jose businessman Chris Tran dead from a fire.
In a Santa Clara Co. courtroom Thursday, suspect Yessenia Estrada pleaded guilty to crimes that left San Jose businessman Chris Tran dead from a fire.
In a Santa Clara Co. courtroom Thursday, suspect Yessenia Estrada pleaded guilty to crimes that left San Jose businessman Chris Tran dead from a fire.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) — Family and friends packed a Santa Clara County courtroom as Yessenia Estrada pleaded guilty to crimes that left San Jose businessman Chris Tran dead from a fire.
Tran’s mother, Vickie Huynh, took the news particularly difficult.
“He’s gone and every day, I hear his voice,” Hyunh said. “Everybody that’s a mother or father out there understands how I’m feeling right now. To look at her in the court like this, I just feel like the system is not fair.”
A heartbroken mother, after the woman who killed her son admits her guilt.
RELATED: SJ woman arrested on suspicion of arson, murder for allegedly lighting commercial fire that killed 1
Tran died when the building his business was in was intentionally set on fire in downtown San Jose.
In a Santa Clara County courtroom Thursday, Estrada pled guilty to charges of felony arson causing great bodily injury and involuntary manslaughter. They carry a maximum sentence of nine years in prison.
“Why only nine years when my son is 51-years-old?” Huynh asked. “At least meet me halfway because this will stick with me for the rest of my life. What’s wrong with the system?”
If Estrada was charged with murder, she could have faced a life sentence depending on the court’s ruling.
But the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office had to balance the action that she took against her mental state at the time of the crime – more aggravated charges require greater proof.
VIDEO: SJ family comes face-to-face with woman suspected of killing businessman by setting building on fire
Inside a San Jose courtroom, family and friends of beloved businessman Christopher Tran faced the woman accused of setting a building fire that killed him.
“Whether we could be confident that in her own mind when she set the fire, she either knew she was going to hurt someone or very likely to hurt someone,” Santa Clara Co. Deputy District Attorney Pablo Wudka-Robles said. “Based on what we know about her, we didn’t feel confident that we’d be able to prove that.”
Tran’s death caused local outrage among family, friends and even local leaders, like San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.
Family said more needs to be done to address homelessness and mental health. But the nine-year-sentence is another systematic failure in their eyes.
“We have to make sure that this situation does not occur to another family and we start that process now,” Tran’s friend Brian Clampitt said. “We heal first, we get justice for Chris and we have to change the process and the policies.”
With her plea, Estrada will be back for her sentencing on August 14 at 9 a.m.