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The medical records of a man accused of stabbing and critically injuring his in-laws in their Crete home in December can be included in the case, a Will County judge ruled Thursday.
Michael Y. Liu, 37, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, has been held in the Will County jail since Dec. 2 on charges of attempted first degree murder, home invasion, aggravated discharge of a firearm, residential burglary, aggravated domestic battery, aggravated battery and trespassing.
In February, the Will County sheriff’s office announced additional charges against Liu of solicitation of murder for hire while behind bars.
Assistant public defender Timothy Specht said in court Thursday he filed a motion in February to quash a subpoena for Liu’s medical records because the documents are privileged.
Assistant state’s attorney Katie Rabenda argued the medical records are relevant to the case because Liu was stabbed during the incident, which could corroborate what his in-laws told police and support a possible self-defense argument. The records could potentially point to Liu’s mental state the day of the incident, she said.
Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak ruled Liu’s medical records could be used in the case because of injuries he sustained and for possible self-defense arguments.
In another motion, Bertani-Tomczak ruled that Liu cannot receive his phone, keys or children’s toys that were taken from his vehicle. Liu can have his wallet, she said, but its contents must be photographed first.
Liu is accused of stabbing his 68-year-old father-in-law and his 66-year-old mother-in-law on Dec. 1 at their home in unincorporated Will County near Crete.
Liu was scheduled to turn himself in at the Waukesha County Huber Detention Facility Dec. 4 for a domestic battery conviction from July as well as a violation of an order of protection complaint, according to the Will County sheriff’s office, which responded to the call.
Instead, Liu traveled from Wisconsin “in an attempt to enact revenge on his soon-to-be ex-wife’s parents,” police said.
The mother-in-law spent two days in the hospital following the attack, while the father-in-law was in the hospital for a week, prosecutors said.
The sheriff’s office said it was notified Jan. 13 by jail staff that Liu talked to several inmates about hiring a hit man to kill the witnesses in his case and offered to pay $20,000.
Detectives recorded Liu discussing the plot with other inmates, according to a news release, and one inmate convinced Liu that he had a friend who would carry out the killing for cash payment.
The inmate told Liu the hit man would require an upfront payment of $10,000 and then another $10,000 after the killings, according to the sheriff’s news release.
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