{"id":44879,"date":"2025-11-09T04:08:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T04:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/44879\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T04:08:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T04:08:12","slug":"suspect-in-murder-of-california-family-asked-online-psychic-will-i-get-caught-for-what-i-did","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/44879\/","title":{"rendered":"Suspect in murder of California family asked online psychic: “will I get caught for what I did”?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark and Marla Palumbo were concerned when their friend and business partner Dr. Henry Han failed to show up for a meeting on March 23, 2016. They would learn the horrific reason why the following day from a news report.<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: I was in the kitchen on my computer and I kept checking \u2026 And I just remember screaming, “they’re all dead.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Han, his wife Jennie, and their 5-year-old daughter Emily were found dead in the garage of their Santa Barbara home. Mark Palumbo had just seen them on his way back from a business trip.<\/p>\n

Mark Palumbo: We went out for dinner \u2026 played Connect Four with Emily.<\/p>\n

\"Emily<\/p>\n

Emily Han was just three days shy of celebrating her 6th birthday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mark and Maria Palumbo<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: He brought his phone to me and I’m just looking at all these pictures of Emily \u2026 and they were \u2026 taken the Friday before \u2026<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: Just horrific.<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: Yeah. \u2026 and she’s just goofing around with a book \u2026 making all these funny faces and \u2026 you could tell \u2026 she was loving life.<\/p>\n

Business Agreement Signed the Last Day of Victim’s Life Led to a Person of Interest<\/p>\n

The Palumbos had recently embarked on a new business venture with Dr. Han.<\/p>\n

Mark Palumbo: I really loved the guy. I mean he really was smart and curious and open-minded \u2026<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: He had to come with food \u2026 and in shorts and flip-flops you know \u2026 just no \u2026 \u00a0air about him.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: But what made you trust him?<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: His passion.<\/p>\n

Mark Palumbo: Yeah. The way he cared about people.<\/p>\n

Don Goldberg had known Dr. Han for more than 25 years and thought of him as a brother. To Goldberg, he was just “Henry.”<\/p>\n

Don Goldberg: I was \u2026 approximately 10 years older than Henry, but he still called me his younger brother. \u2026 you just don’t come across a friend like Henry \u2026 It’s once in a lifetime friendship.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/p>\n

“Henry was the guy … in the alternative medicine world,” said Dr. Glenn Miller, who partnered on a book with Dr. Han. “Patients would come in from all different parts of the country to see him.”<\/p>\n

Santa Barbara Herb Clinic<\/p>\n

When they met, Henry Han was making a name for himself after emigrating from China, where he came from a family of physicians. He would soon take over the Santa Barbara Herb Clinic. <\/p>\n

Dr. Glenn Miller: I had several patients \u2026 who had had medication side effects \u2026 They would say \u2026 I went to see Doctor Han \u2026 and it went away. \u2026 And it was like, I gotta meet this guy.<\/p>\n

Dr. Glenn Miller, a psychiatrist, says he and Henry Han developed a mutual respect and even partnered on a book about how Eastern and Western medicine could work together to improve patients’ quality of life. <\/p>\n

Dr. Glenn Miller: Henry’s practice was flourishing \u2026 as far as active patients, he would see like in a month, it was hundreds \u2026 but he also tried to balance it.<\/p>\n

In 2009, that balance he was seeking became a reality, when Henry met and married Jennie Yu.<\/p>\n

Dr. Glenn Miller: He seemed incredibly happy \u2026 It was good to see Henry that happy.<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: Jennie \u2026 was absolutely warm and lovely.<\/p>\n

\"Jennie,<\/p>\n

“I felt better whenever I spent time with Henry, Jennie and Emily,” friend Don Goldberg said of the Han family.<\/p>\n

Santa Barbara D.A.’s Office<\/p>\n

When they had Emily, the dream was complete.<\/p>\n

Don Goldberg: Henry was just \u2026 on cloud nine. He was very proud father.<\/p>\n

They were often together at the clinic, where Jennie had quickly become Henry’s right hand, says her friend Isaiah Oregon.<\/p>\n

Isaiah Oregon: He really trusted her and let her kind of take the reins \u2026<\/p>\n

In the spring of 2016, they were getting ready to celebrate Emily’s 6th birthday. <\/p>\n

Isaiah Oregon: We were making plans for her birthday party and \u2026 you know, had all her presents wrapped. <\/p>\n

But just three days shy of her birthday, her loved ones were stricken with grief.<\/p>\n

Don Goldberg: I don’t really have adequate words to describe h \u2014 how I felt \u2026 The sadness \u2026 is too deep.<\/p>\n

As night fell on the Han estate on Wednesday, March 23, Goldberg tried to process what he had just witnessed. He had called 911 when he couldn’t find the Hans anywhere, and he was with sheriff’s deputies when they discovered the bodies in the garage wrapped in plastic. <\/p>\n

Don Goldberg: None of it made any sense at all.<\/p>\n

Prosecutor Ben Ladinig says it was shortly before midnight when Santa Barbara sheriff’s investigators obtained a search warrant and began to piece together what had happened inside the house. It appeared the family had been shot while they slept upstairs on the second floor \u2014 Henry in the couple’s bedroom, and Jennie and Emily across the hall in Emily’s room.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: Emily’s room was tough to see \u2026 Mom \u2026 probably read her stories to have Emily go to sleep that night and was sleeping with her.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: What did that tell you about the depravity of the kind of person who could do something like that? \u2026 What were they after?<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: We didn’t know what he was after. But \u2026 the depravity I’ve never seen anything like it.<\/p>\n

Detectives picked up on the distinct smell of the murderer’s attempts to cover his tracks.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: The smell of bleach \u2026 was there. \u2026We had bleach bottles found \u2026 There were bleach \u2026 stains on the carpet and throughout other items upstairs \u2026 and then you see bloody things in \u2026 a washing machine.<\/p>\n

All the bedding, which had been stripped from the beds was found piled in the laundry room and in the machine.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: The washing machine, the alarm had gone off because it \u2014 the load was unbalanced. And within there are a huge group of bloody sheets \u2026<\/p>\n

\"Han<\/p>\n

A bullet and bullet fragments were found in pillows stuffed in the Han family’s washing machine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Santa Barbara D.A.’s Office<\/p>\n

Wedged in pillows in the laundry, crime scene investigators found a .22 caliber bullet and bullet fragments. Three matching shell casings were found within the wrapping of Jennie’s body, and one was later found lodged between the baseboard and box spring of Emily’s bed. <\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: We had one bullet that was a through and through \u2026 it was perfect for comparison \u2026 for \u2026 the murder weapon. <\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: As things are going, we start to find clues as to \u2026 who potentially could be involved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Inside a paper bag next to Henry’s bed, detectives found a document signed the last day Henry was seen alive. It provided a name.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: It’s basically a four-page business contract between two partners. Partner one, Pierre Haobsh, and partner two, Dr. Han.<\/p>\n

Don Goldberg knew a Pierre that Dr. Han was associated with, but Goldberg thought he was harmless.<\/p>\n

Don Goldberg: I did not think that \u2026 Pierre was capable of \u2026 murder \u2026 I never really saw Pierre become angry or agitated. <\/p>\n

But the Palumbos had a bad feeling.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: You didn’t trust him?<\/p>\n

Mark Palumbo: I did not.<\/p>\n

A Suspect is Sought as a Community Mourns<\/p>\n

The indelible scar left by the murders was the kind that not even Dr. Han could’ve healed.<\/p>\n

\"Han<\/p>\n

Mourners paid their respects at a beachside gathering for Henry, Jennie and Emily Han. “This community was left with a scar,” said Dr. Glenn Miller.<\/p>\n

Paul Wellman\/Santa Barbara Independent<\/p>\n

Kymberlee Ruff: It was like a bomb exploded \u2026 Nobody could move for weeks. \u2026 There is something \u2026 very, very, very dark going on. <\/p>\n

Kymberlee Ruff says Dr. Han treated her family for two decades \u2014 ever since she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer shortly after giving birth to her son. Ruff says Dr. Han’s holistic approach allowed her to nurse her newborn while still treating her tumors.<\/p>\n

Kymberlee Ruff: He could do anything. \u2026 No matter how scared you might be, or- or frightened, you just left feeling like it’s gonna be OK. Yeah, he was something.<\/p>\n

Instilling hope may have been one of the secrets to why his patients say Dr. Han could heal just about anything.<\/p>\n

Sheri Buron: Dr. Han, like, saved my life.<\/p>\n

Sheri Buron was also a young mother with cancer when she went to Dr. Han.<\/p>\n

Sheri Buron: My daughter, Abbey, was 15 months old \u2026 I felt a lump under my armpit.<\/p>\n

Even though she had the prescribed surgery and chemotherapy, she credits Dr. Han with her survival.<\/p>\n

Sheri Buron: There were so many people that passed away around me. \u2026 He got me through it.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: What was the impact for you of his loss?<\/p>\n

Sheri Buron: It’s the fear of \u2026 if something comes back. \u2026 And I’m \u2026 trying every day to be positive and \u2026 try to stay with his level of calm and how much confidence he had that like everything’s taken care of. <\/p>\n

That conviction is what had drawn the Palumbos \u2014 who worked in the skincare industry \u2014 into their partnership with Dr. Han, hoping to treat various skin maladies. <\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: Henry was very interested in CBD.<\/p>\n

Having used CBD in his practice to treat pain and inflammation, Henry Han wanted to harness its full potential. It was groundbreaking science at the time, and he wanted 25-year-old Pierre Haobsh to help develop it.<\/p>\n

Don Goldberg: Pierre \u2026 from what we gathered had a lot of experience, uh, in laboratories \u2026 in this case relating to CBD.<\/p>\n

Henry Han had taken a liking to Haobsh after meeting him through another associate, but the Palumbos were uncomfortable with Pierre from the start.<\/p>\n

\"Pierre<\/p>\n

Pierre Haobsh<\/p>\n

Facebook<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: You know how when you meet somebody \u2026 you can’t put your finger on it \u2026 but something’s not right. That was Pierre.<\/p>\n

Mark Palumbo: It was always this kind of little boiling simmer.<\/p>\n

When it came time to do the lab work, the Palumbos say the results were disturbing. <\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: What we came to find out was he was using toxic materials \u2026 when \u2026 we called him on it \u2026 he said, you know, “I’m just learning more about the molecules” \u2026 it was just weird. <\/p>\n

As it turned out, Haobsh wasn’t a formally trained scientist. He didn’t even have a college degree.<\/p>\n

Mark Palumbo: The more you got under that surface, the more you realize that he could, uh, talk a game and stay over the folks’ heads a bit scientifically \u2026<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: Sounds like he was sort of \u2026 a snake oil salesman-type, right?<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: He was \u2014<\/p>\n

Mark Palumbo: \u00a0\u2014 sophisticated one, but yes \u2014<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: Yeah, very sophisticated one.<\/p>\n

There was more eyebrow-raising behavior \u2014 Haobsh had also made odd charges on Henry Han’s account.<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: I was doing all the finances \u2026 And I’m like, this doesn’t look right.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: Not a business expense \u2014<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: Not at all.<\/p>\n

After Marla Palumbo flagged the charges to Henry Han, he discovered they were for escort services.<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: Henry was, “You won’t believe this! Pierre’s out.”<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: That was the final straw.<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: That was Henry’s final straw.<\/p>\n

Mark Palumbo: For Henry, yeah.<\/p>\n

But then, a few weeks before the murders, the Palumbos say Henry Han brought up Pierre Haobsh out of the blue. <\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: Henry mentioned that he had learned a lot more about Pierre’s upbringing \u2026 how much Pierre had to overcome from his childhood. \u2026 Mark nor I really responded. We didn’t want to have Pierre back in our fold at all. <\/p>\n

The Palumbos were not alone in being wary of Pierre Haobsh. Jennie Han’s friend, Isaiah Oregon, says Jennie also had concerns and confided in him about them four days before the murders. <\/p>\n

Isaiah Oregon: It was weighing on her heavily. \u2026 “Do we trust him? \u2026 Do we give him another chance?” \u2026 I was like, “Absolutely not.” \u2026 If he stole from you before, he’s gonna steal from you again.”<\/p>\n

But Pierre Haobsh had already ingratiated himself back into Henry’s good will.<\/p>\n

Don Goldberg: Henry had a very trusting nature \u2026 Henry had shared with me that Pierre told him that he was \u2026 ill \u2026 that it was late-stage cancer and that, uh, he was going to do what he could to help Pierre.<\/p>\n

Isaiah Oregon: Using Henry’s good nature \u2026 by lying to him, by manipulating him.<\/p>\n

Authorities learned that Haobsh had been an overnight guest at the Han’s home before the murders and had formed a new partnership with the healer. There was that contract found in the master bedroom they had signed the last day of Henry’s life. But Prosecutor Ben Ladinig says it didn’t seem legitimate.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: It \u2026 was like a college sophomore drafted it. \u2026 It was not notarized, not witnessed.<\/p>\n

Detectives had found something else of interest.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: A brilliant detective \u2026 \u00a0found \u2026 packaging to \u2026 the plastic \u2026 wrapping \u2026 that all three of the Han family were wrapped in \u2026 In a trash can, in the kitchen area next to packaging \u2026 of 3M duct tape, similar to the duct tape that was used to wrap all three of the bodies.<\/p>\n

\"Han<\/p>\n

Packaging from plastic wrap investigators believed was used in the Han murders was found in a trash can of the victims’ home.<\/p>\n

Santa Barbara D.A.’s Office<\/p>\n

He recognized the plastic wrap was a Home Depot brand and reached out to the company’s security department. <\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: And Home Depot was, within hours of us \u2026 gaining an entry into the house, able to run those two items together, to see if they had been purchased in the Southern California region within the last several days or weeks.<\/p>\n

A Home Depot in Oceanside, California, had security footage of a man who matched the DMV photo of Pierre Haobsh, who also happened to have an Oceanside address. <\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: And that was “Bam!” We knew. \u2026 He’s walking out with three huge plastic rolls \u2026 and sure enough, duct tape.<\/p>\n

\"Pierre<\/p>\n

Security video shows Pierre Haobsh shopping at a Home Depot in Oceanside, California. In his cart, say investigators, were rolls of plastic wrap and duct tape.<\/p>\n

Santa Barbara D.A.’s Office<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: So within hours of \u2026 the crime scene being discovered, Pierre Haobsh became \u2026 a person of interest.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: Yes.<\/p>\n

But where was Haobsh now? Detectives had a hunch. Data from the Hans’ cellphones \u2014 which were missing \u2014 showed they were traveling south, further, and further from Santa Barbara.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: Then inexplicably, Henry’s phone goes dark \u2026 but Jennie’s is still on and it keeps going south. \u2026We’re getting basically digital footprints leading down to the Oceanside area from a dead woman’s phone.<\/p>\n

A Key Witness Tells Detectives Pierre Haobsh Confessed to Him<\/p>\n

Sgt. Anthony Flores (driving): Anytime you’re trying to stop somebody that is wanted for homicide, the stakes are gonna be high.<\/p>\n

The day after the Han family was found murdered, a manhunt was underway in Oceanside, California \u2014 nearly 200 miles from the crime scene. Sgt. Anthony Flores and his partner were part of the local Oceanside Police team assisting the Santa Barbara investigation.<\/p>\n

Sgt. Anthony Flores: We had come in to work with our Special Enforcement section \u2026 And we were gonna be the stop car for that day. \u2026 If \u2026 given a window of opportunity \u2026 to take him into custody or potentially stop him.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, undercover detectives were conducting surveillance at the residence Pierre Haobsh shared with his father and updating all units \u2014 including the homicide team that had driven down from Santa Barbara with Prosecutor Ben Ladinig.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: All of a sudden, we get chatter \u2026 on our intercoms \u2026 “dad’s on the move.”<\/p>\n

The surveillance team followed Pierre Haobsh’s father as he drove to a Walmart parking lot, where security cameras captured him meeting up with none other than Pierre.<\/p>\n

\"Pierre<\/p>\n

Security video shows Pierre Haobsh’s father meeting up with his son in a parking lot. After transferring two large duffel bags to Pierre’s car, they both drove off.<\/p>\n

Santa Barbara D.A.’s Office<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: That’s dad driving in \u2026 sedan and then you see the Lexus following shortly behind \u2026 They appear to be communicating briefly together \u2026 you can just see that trunk pop \u2014 on dad’s car.<\/p>\n

After transferring two large duffel bags to Pierre Haobsh’s car, they both drove off.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: We gotta move quickly.<\/p>\n

Sgt. Anthony Flores (driving): It was \u2026 a little after midnight and \u2026 we had just got the update that the suspect was on the move \u2026 As we’re traveling, we’re hearing that he’s pulling into the ARCO station.<\/p>\n

Sgt. Anthony Flores: He had a few miles of a head start.<\/p>\n

The other units and Ladinig had pulled over by the ARCO station waiting for the arrest team to arrive.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: Then all of a sudden, you see \u2026 an unmarked car \u2026 drive right through the middle of that intersection \u2026 sparks fly and \u2026 it just basically comes in, pulls in and lays on the brakes \u2026 Two huge dudes get outta the car and pull gun on him and prone him out. And our eyes are like saucers. We’re like, whoa.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: Wow.<\/p>\n

\"Pierre<\/p>\n

Pierre Haobsh’s arrest was captured by ARCO gas station security cameras in Oceanside, California.<\/p>\n

Santa Barbara D.A.’s Office<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales (at ARCO station): It’s 200 miles away that this investigation started and it culminated here.<\/p>\n

Sergeant Flores had handcuffed Pierre Haobsh.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales (at ARCO station): What do you remember about that arrest?<\/p>\n

Sgt. Anthony Flores: I remember it going down really fast \u2026 \u00a0all of our senses were heightened …<\/p>\n

Within 48 hours of the murders, investigators had the Han family’s alleged killer in custody. Pierre Haobsh waived his Miranda rights and started talking to detectives. What he told them was something out of a spy thriller. He claimed that his life was in danger.<\/p>\n

PIERRE HAOBSH (to detective): Over the past couple of days, I\u2014I kid you not I’ve been shot at. \u2026 probably about five individuals so far that I shot in self-defense.<\/p>\n

He claimed he was being targeted because of a scientific marvel he had invented.<\/p>\n

DET. HENDERSON: What does it do?<\/p>\n

PIERRE HAOBSH: It’s, um, it’s a very, very advanced energy source. \u2026 it’s \u2014 it’s a quantum kinda energy source. \u2026 I think probably at least 15 individuals who have been connected to this project are \u2014 are dead.<\/p>\n

\"Piere<\/p>\n

A prototype of Pierre Haobsh’s supposed perpetual energy device. Haobsh claimed his life was in danger because of his invention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Santa Barbara Superior Court<\/p>\n

Pierre Haobsh said he had gone to Dr. Han’s house earlier in the week to install one of his perpetual energy devices and that the plastic wrap and duct tape he was seen purchasing were for that purpose.<\/p>\n

PIERRE HAOBSH (to detective): Dr. Henry, we, um, we signed a contract together \u2026 he was going to facilitate taking the technology out to China. \u2026 love\u2014 love the guy to death. \u2026 he really, um, really liked this project \u2026 <\/p>\n

Pierre Haobsh said he had left Santa Barbara around 2 p.m. on March \u00a022 \u2014 the day before the murders \u2014 after signing the contract. But detectives pushed back.<\/p>\n

DET. HENDERSON: There’s more to this story that you’re not telling me. \u2026 Dr. Han is dead.<\/p>\n

PIERRE HAOBSH: What!? \u2026 I had \u2014no clue that \u2014 oh my gosh. Everything was perfectly fine when I left.<\/p>\n

Pierre Haobsh was adamant he would never hurt the family and insisted the shadowy figures who had been after him had killed the Hans and were trying to frame him for murder.<\/p>\n

PIERRE HAOBSH (to detective): \u2026 I invented a technology that changes the world\u2026 oil companies and people don’t want this technology out there.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: It was this massive conspiracy to keep this \u2026 next-level energy system from getting out to market. \u2026 “James Bond,” “Mission Impossible” \u2026 this fantastical life.<\/p>\n

Pierre Haobsh’s outlandish story continued, but then detectives received an unexpected call from someone who claimed to have information about the murders.<\/p>\n

TJ Direda: I’m a pretty rough around the edges guy \u2026 I have rough around the edges friends.<\/p>\n

TJ Direda was a marijuana grower who said Dr. Han had approached him about supplying CBD-rich strains. Direda had also met Pierre Haobsh.<\/p>\n

TJ Direda: Dr. Henry had told me \u2026 that he was \u2026 like a prodigy street chemist \u2026 he had done some stuff that was ahead of his time.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: \u00a0So, a little bit of a mad scientist?<\/p>\n

TJ Direda: Yeah, I would say.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: Perhaps, yeah.<\/p>\n

According to Direda, Pierre Haobsh had a penchant for making up grandiose stories to seek attention. But he befriended him, nonetheless.<\/p>\n

TJ Direda: He was \u2026 that \u2026 awkward \u2026 kid that wanted to fit in. \u2026 And \u2026 I was the guy in high school that stuck up for kids like that \u2026 So \u2026 I, uh, took an interest in him \u2026 in that regard. \u2026<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: You think he trusted you then?<\/p>\n

TJ Direda: Oh, he absolutely trusted me. <\/p>\n

As Direda revealed to detectives, Pierre Haobsh had reached out to him via text the morning of the murders. The message sent at 09:39 a.m. said: “I need your help with something urgently… Like its urgent!!!!!”<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: What was he asking for?<\/p>\n

TJ Direda: Uh, he needed my help. \u2026 moving something.<\/p>\n

He says Pierre Haobsh told him he was in Santa Barbara and needed to talk face to face. So Direda had him come to his house in Thousand Oaks, about an hour away.<\/p>\n

TJ Direda: The first thing out of his mouth \u2026 “just so you know, I’m a monster.” \u2026 He had told me right then and there that he had killed Dr. Henry \u2026 his wife and his child \u2026 and needed help \u2026<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: Did he give you details \u2026 of what he did?<\/p>\n

TJ Direda: He did.<\/p>\n

Direda told detectives Pierre Haobsh said he had tried to put the bodies in his car, but they wouldn’t all fit and Henry was too heavy \u2014 details Ladinig says only the killer would know.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: How the killings were done, how the bodies were wrapped up \u2026 how he had the doctor’s phone \u2026<\/p>\n

Direda told detectives Pierre Haobsh had also revealed his motive: $20 million that he planned to drain from Henry’s accounts after killing the family. Direda says he didn’t know if what he was hearing was another one of Haobsh’s far-fetched stories. And until he knew for sure, he decided to play along.<\/p>\n

TJ Direda: I just wanted to get him out of the house and confirm whether what he had just said was true or not. \u2026 I said let me work on it and I’ll call you later \u2026<\/p>\n

Once Pierre Haobsh was gone, Direda tried to reach Dr. Han and anyone who might have information, to no avail. <\/p>\n

TJ Direda: I didn’t want to call the police because I didn’t \u2014 I wasn’t sure yet \u2026 it was chaotic. It was \u2026 it was scary and also \u2026 confusing. <\/p>\n

Pierre Haobsh kept messaging him. Around 5 p.m., when Direda still hadn’t provided any assistance, Haobsh texted him with a proposition.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: “Want to come to Vegas tonight? I’ll pay.” What did you think the reason for that all-of-a-sudden trip to Vegas?<\/p>\n

TJ Direda: At that point, I wasn’t sure. It didn’t sound right \u2026 He was probably gonna kill me and somehow make it look like I had something to do with it.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: You were gonna be the fall guy.<\/p>\n

TJ Direda: Right.<\/p>\n

Direda made up an excuse why he couldn’t go. And Haobsh would send him one final text at 7:35 p.m. that night: “Yep. Am screwed. They just found everything. My lives over. Only if I got to it all sooner.”<\/p>\n

Ladinig says Pierre Haobsh had just returned to the crime scene with a big truck to transport the bodies, but law enforcement had beaten him to the scene. <\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: He knew his goose was cooked.<\/p>\n

More Disturbing Details About the Han Family Murders Emerge<\/p>\n

Pierre Haobsh’s arrest near Oceanside, California, had come at a critical juncture. He was armed with a 9-millimeter handgun that was in plain view on the driver’s side floorboard. He also had his passport and those duffel bags, which he had received from his father minutes earlier.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: Two “go bags.” \u2026 Basically, whatever you need, clothes \u2026 everything for the person to live for months.<\/p>\n

Haobsh’s father was also detained and questioned, but he was released later that morning.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: We could’ve charged him \u2026 as an accessory, but we didn’t have any indication. \u2026 that dad \u2026 was involved in any way, shape, or form in the killing \u2026<\/p>\n

The next day, during a closer examination of Haobsh’s car at the crime lab, “You name it we found it in that car,” said Ladinig.<\/p>\n

There was Henry’s wallet, credit card and Social Security number, along with an expended shell casing. There were also the victims’ phones and tablet, all wrapped in aluminum foil, in an attempt to evade tracking.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: And in the trunk … you lift up where the spare tire would be \u2026 the murder weapon \u2026 suppressor silencer, ammunition.<\/p>\n

\"han-jennie-henry.jpg<\/p>\n

Dr Henry Han and his wife, Jennie.<\/p>\n

The Santa Barbara Independent<\/p>\n

A week after the murders, the autopsies revealed the victims had been shot 14 times \u2014 three each into Henry and Jennie, and most disturbing, eight in Emily. <\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: That ammunition \u2026 is the same stuff that we found at the crime scene, in the decedent’s bodies \u2026 Match, match, match, match, match. Everything.<\/p>\n

Pierre Haobsh was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, making him eligible for the death penalty. <\/p>\n

Defense attorney Christine Voss, who was with the Public Defender’s Office at the time, represented Haobsh.<\/p>\n

Christine Voss: It was one of the most challenging cases, if not the most challenging case I ever came upon. \u2026 He really wanted to be vindicated. \u2026 To me, the goal was for him to not get death.<\/p>\n

At the eleventh hour, the D.A.’s office agreed to waive the death penalty in exchange for a more expedient bench trial, which meant a judge, not a jury, would render a verdict.<\/p>\n

On Oct. 25, 2021 more than five-and-a-half years after the murders, the prosecution delivered its opening statement and laid out its theory of the case \u2014 that Pierre Haobsh had plotted the murder of the Han family for financial gain. They painted him as a career con man who up until the murders flaunted his intelligence and supposed wealth.<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: His entire life’s drive was being rich.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: He \u2026 sent \u2026 screenshots of his Chase account from anywhere from about $3 million up to $940 million dollars to various people attempting to dupe them that he’s this jet setting, billionaire.<\/p>\n

Pierre Haobsh claimed he had received big offers for his energy technology. <\/p>\n

Christine Voss: I’m not a scientist, but I don’t know that there’s a such thing as a perpetual energy machine.<\/p>\n

But several years before the murders, Haobsh was actually being paid to build one.<\/p>\n

Samantha Spidell: It was gonna be a new source of energy as if he was, you know, an Elon Musk \u2026<\/p>\n

Samantha Spidell met Pierre Haobsh circa 2012 when he moved into a penthouse apartment in a luxury high-rise she managed in Tempe, Arizona. <\/p>\n

Samantha Spidell: He \u2026 pulled up \u2026 and had this \u2026 bright red Ferrari \u2026 it was very flashy.<\/p>\n

Ladinig says Haobsh had duped a group of high-rolling investors into financing his invention, until they realized it didn’t actually work.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: He had basically defrauded all these people and the money dried up \u2026 When the murders were committed I think he had less than $500 to his name.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors presented a detailed timeline retracing Haobsh’s movements, including his digital footprint, in the days before and after the murders. They say as early as March 17 \u2014 six days before the murders \u2014 he had looked into impersonating the doctor at his bank.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: He’s searching for Asian disguises and real flesh masks.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: Like a “Mission Impossible” face mask.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: Right. Hundred percent. \u2026 this is his fantastical world that he lived in.<\/p>\n

There’s no evidence he ever purchased a mask. But a time-stamped receipt and security video placed him at an Arizona gun store four days before the murders \u2014 purchasing ammunition and two firearms, including the alleged murder weapon.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: \u00a0\u2014 a .22 pistol with a threaded barrel \u2026 for what is a silencer or suppressor \u2026<\/p>\n

On March 20, he was back in Oceanside, California, buying supplies before driving up to the Han’s house under the guise of installing the energy machine. Instead, Ladinig says Pierre Haobsh bugged Henry Han’s computer with a spyware app called a keylogger.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: What keyloggers do is every stroke, every click of the mouse, every navigation page you go, it documents all of it.<\/p>\n

To their surprise, investigators also found the keylogger on Pierre Haobsh’s laptop. On March 21, while Haobsh was still at the Han’s home, the keylogger had recorded chilling search terms on his laptop.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: What part of the skull is more penetrable? \u2026 What ammunition would be better …<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: As a guest in Dr. Han’s house \u2013<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: A guest\u2014 he’d been staying there \u2013 <\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: — for the two nights before … Planning, this execution-style murder.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: Yes.<\/p>\n

Pierre Haobsh left the Han residence on March 22, but prosecutors allege he went back around 4 a.m. the next morning to carry out the murders. They say later that day he began frantically trying to siphon money from Henry Han’s accounts.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: He’s using phones. \u2026 He’s using fake email accounts. He’s doing all these things from \u2026 personal identifying information of Dr. Han’s that he stole earlier that week.<\/p>\n

A Chase fraud alert had flagged an attempted payment for $72,000. Meanwhile, Pierre Haobsh also rented that big truck he allegedly drove to the crime scene hoping to move the bodies.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: There are black and whites all over that house. \u2026 The crime scene’s being processed.<\/p>\n

The Palumbos say the meeting they were supposed to have with Henry Han just hours after he was murdered had foiled Pierre Haobsh’s plans.<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: He thought \u2026 that he had that whole day to clean up his mess before Henry would be missed.<\/p>\n

Mark Palumbo: He wasn’t fast enough.<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: I think we screwed it up for him, happily.<\/p>\n

That’s when prosecutors say he fled, driving south toward Oceanside. Ladinig argues Pierre Haobsh’s subsequent searches betray his guilty conscience: “is car searched entering tijuana”; “How Crime Scene Investigation Works”; and “how long do fingerprints take to process”. Incredibly, he even consulted an online psychic named Count Marco and asked him “will I get causght for what I did?” <\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: And Count Marco replies, well, what did you do, Pierre?<\/p>\n

Pierre Haobsh never gave Count Marco an explanation, but on the stand, he couldn’t stop talking.<\/p>\n

Pierre Haobsh Tells an Outlandish Story on the Stand<\/p>\n

Christine Voss: This was a tough case \u2026 but that didn’t change the fact that Pierre was entitled to a vigorous defense.<\/p>\n

Defense Attorney Christine Voss was in an unusual position.<\/p>\n

Christine Voss: This was a really well investigated case. \u2026 Because my client wanted to have a trial and wanted me to turn every stone, I did. <\/p>\n

Turn every stone and raise any possible reasonable doubt.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: You argued that there were elements presented that were implausible \u2026 unprovable and simply impossible, those were your words.<\/p>\n

Christine Voss: Yeah.<\/p>\n

Voss expressed concerns that the alleged murder weapon and silencer found in Haobsh’s car didn’t match up.<\/p>\n

Christine Voss: It absolutely did not connect to the firearm that they believed was the murder weapon. <\/p>\n

She seized on discrepancies in the location data from Haobsh’s car and phone that the prosecution had used in its timeline.<\/p>\n

Christine Voss: He could not possibly have been in San Diego and Santa Barbara simultaneously, or Thousand Oaks and Santa Barbara simultaneously. But that’s what the GPS data showed.<\/p>\n

And she attacked the credibility of the prosecution’s star witness, TJ Direda. Voss questioned why Direda waited nearly two days to contact authorities, and argued in that time, he could have gotten details about the crime scene that the prosecution claimed only the killer knew.<\/p>\n

Christine Voss: It was not the best kept crime scene \u2026 he was making various phone calls after he heard about the death of Dr. Han \u2026<\/p>\n

But Voss concedes much of Direda’s testimony was corroborated by the evidence.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: This case was over within the first 72 hours.<\/p>\n

In fact, the only witness who provided testimony that someone other than Pierre Haobsh was the killer was Pierre Haobsh. During three days on the stand, he repeated the action-packed account he’d given detectives about having shootouts with shadowy figures. Now he said he was sure they were sent by the Department of Energy. <\/p>\n

Natalie Morales:\u00a0 It sounds like there’d be a trail of bodies \u2026 But yet, is there proof of this trail of bodies anywhere to your knowledge?<\/p>\n

Christine Voss: No. \u2026 which further made him believe it was the Department of Energy \u2026<\/p>\n

And what about all that evidence investigators found?<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: The DOE \u2026 planted them \u2026 it’s all a frame, all that stuff is framed. The banking stuff, frame job. \u2026 What’s in my car, frame job.<\/p>\n

Christine Voss: It was difficult for me to embrace Pierre’s testimony.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: Do you think he himself believed some of the things \u2026 he was saying were true?<\/p>\n

Christine Voss: Oh yeah, definitely.<\/p>\n

Samantha Spidell: He was obsessed with the government.<\/p>\n

Samantha Spidell attests there were some kernels of truth in his stories.<\/p>\n

Samantha Spidell: Pierre mentions that his dad had ties to the CIA \u2026 And I could tell that he \u2026 wanted his dad’s \u2026 approval. <\/p>\n

When his father died in 2023, his obituary stated he was, “a key player in clandestine Central Intelligence Agency operations during the 1980s.” Pierre Haobsh also told Spidell that his sister was going to star in a reality TV show.<\/p>\n

Samantha Spidell: She got cast on a newlyweds reality show \u2026 and Pierre was gonna be in it \u2026 come to find out that was true.<\/p>\n

In fact, both Haobsh and his father made appearances on the second season of the Bravo TV series “Newlyweds, The First Year.” Pierre was even shown giving his brother-in-law a cooking lesson. <\/p>\n

But Prosecutor Ben Ladinig argued any grains of authenticity in Haobsh’s life were far outweighed by deceit.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: You called him “a lying liar who lies about lying.”<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: \u00a0Right \u2026 Lie, lie, lie, lie hundreds of lies we found on him. \u2026 His life was a con.<\/p>\n

On Nov. 24, 2021, Judge Brian Hill would get the case. None of Pierre Haobsh’s family members attended his trial. The judge made his ruling: guilty on all counts. <\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: The judge, when he issued his ruling, said \u2026 his decision was beyond a shadow of a doubt, absolutely no doubt of Pierre Haobsh’s guilt.<\/p>\n

Ben Ladinig: Yeah \u2026 very satisfactory to hear that.<\/p>\n

Christine Voss: I wasn’t surprised.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales: And what was Pierre’s reaction upon hearing that ruling?<\/p>\n

Christine Voss: Well, he was visibly disappointed.<\/p>\n

\"Jennie,<\/p>\n

Jennie, Henry and Emily Han<\/p>\n

Isaac Hernandez, Mercury Press Inc.\/Isaiah Oregon<\/p>\n

On April 15, 2022, Pierre Haobsh was sentenced to three life terms without the possibility of parole. It was little comfort to those still mourning Henry, Jennie and Emily. <\/p>\n

Don Goldberg: I don’t understand how there really could be justice.<\/p>\n

Isaiah Oregon: He’s still alive \u2026 and \u2014 and they’re not. \u2026 \u00a0He took precious moments that \u2026 we’ll never get. (wipe tears from his eyes)<\/p>\n

Marla Palumbo: I want him to feel every pain possible for what he did.<\/p>\n

Mark Palumbo: Not enough bad things can happen for him.<\/p>\n

Nearly a decade after the murders, the wounds are still raw.<\/p>\n

Isaiah Oregon: \u00a0It’s hard to think of them.<\/p>\n

Dr. Glenn Miller: He was a really good man. \u2026 you don’t replace a Henry Han. No.<\/p>\n

Don Goldberg: Pretty much every day I think of Henry and Jennie and Emily. \u2026 There’s an old \u2026 phrase that \u2026 a good man and a good family lives for limited time, but a good name shall live forever \u2026 They lived too short \u2026 but \u2026 their name lives on forever.<\/p>\n

Haobsh’s conviction was upheld by the California Court of Appeal in January 2025.<\/p>\n

He also petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to release him. The Court denied his petition.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, TJ Direda died.<\/p>\n

Produced by Gayane Keshishyan Mendez. Greg Fisher is the development producer. Iris Carreras and Hannah Vair are the field producers. Ken Blum and Diana Modica are the editors. Cameron Rubner is the associate producer. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mark and Marla Palumbo were concerned when their friend and business partner Dr. Henry Han failed to show…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44880,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[29646,7,9,8,1331],"class_list":{"0":"post-44879","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-48-hours","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-california-headlines","11":"tag-california-news","12":"tag-murder"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44879\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}