Court won’t reinstate murder charges against Las Vegas woman

By Cy Ryan

Wednesday, May 12, 2010 | 1:41 p.m.

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Supreme Court has refused to reinstate murder charges against a woman who was indicted in connection with the fatal stabbing of Wen Jun Li in a Las Vegas bar in July last year.

The court backed up District Judge Michael Villani, who ruled that not enough evidence was presented to a grand jury to merit the charges of murder, conspiracy and burglary against Li Lu.

The District Attorney’s Office appealed the dismissal but the court on Wednesday said Villani was right when he found the prosecution failed to present the required “slight or marginal evidence” necessary to support the charges.

The prosecution maintained Lu and her partner, Jacky Wang, saw the victim in the bar on Jones Boulevard and phoned their friends Xiao Ye Bai and his girlfriend Pei “Nikki” Pei, with whom they lived. The District Attorney’s Office said Bai and Pei were out to get the victim because he would not pay $10,000 in extortion money.

Bai came to the bar and fatally stabbed Li.

Lu contended she was drunk and throwing up, and she phoned Bai to pick her up.

Villiani also dismissed charges against Wang, but Wang was held for extradition to California on other criminal charges.