An incarcerated Orange County man facing a murder charge in his mother’s death has died of complications from COVID-19, authorities said.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Ah Le Fang died Thursday after testing positive for the virus in December. The 37-year-old was hospitalized on Jan. 6, the Orange County Register reported.
Fang pleaded not guilty following his arrest on murder and attempted murder charges after his mother and her boyfriend were stabbed at their Fullerton apartment in August 2017. The woman died at a hospital.
Before the attack, police said Fang got into an argument with his sister and later emerged from his bedroom with a knife.
Fang had a history of mental illness and was diagnosed with schizophrenia and other disorders, authorities said. Fang was awaiting trial at the Intake Release Center in Santa Ana.
Fang’s death came after legal scrutiny over how the county’s jail system has responded to the coronavirus pandemic. The sheriff’s department has said more than 2,000 inmates in the county have tested positive for the virus.
