Dr. Henry Han, his wife Jennie and their 5‑year‑old daughter Emily were found murdered in the garage of their Santa Barbara home in late March 2016. The discovery followed a missed business meeting and welfare checks by friends and deputies; investigators found the three bodies wrapped in plastic and bound with duct tape. Crime‑scene evidence indicated the victims had been shot while asleep upstairs: autopsies later showed Henry and Jennie each shot three times and Emily shot eight times, for a total of 14 gunshot wounds. Bedding had been stripped and placed in washing machines, and the odor of bleach suggested an attempted cleanup.
Dr. Han had emigrated from China and built a successful holistic medical practice in Santa Barbara; Jennie worked alongside him, and their daughter Emily was about to turn six. Friends and patients described Han as warm, trusted and effective with cancer and other serious conditions. In the weeks before the murders, Han had begun a business venture exploring CBD and other treatments with partners Mark and Marla Palumbo. A young man named Pierre Haobsh became involved as a purported lab or chemistry specialist. The Palumbos and others quickly became uneasy about Pierre’s credentials and behavior: he lacked formal scientific training, used questionable chemicals, made odd charges on Han’s accounts and — according to the Palumbos — arranged escort services charged to Henry’s card. Han originally cut ties, but then gave Pierre another chance after Pierre claimed illness and asked for help.
Investigators found in the master bedroom a four‑page contract bearing the name “Pierre Haobsh,” dated the last day Henry was seen alive. They recovered packaging for Home Depot plastic wrap and 3M duct tape that matched the materials used to wrap the bodies; store video showed a man matching Haobsh buying giant rolls of plastic and duct tape at a Home Depot near Oceanside. The Hans’ cell phones left a digital trail south from Santa Barbara; Henry’s phone went dark while Jennie’s kept moving toward Oceanside.
Detectives executed a manhunt. Surveillance tracked Haobsh’s movements, including a late‑night meeting in a Walmart parking lot with his father during which duffel bags were transferred between cars. Haobsh and his father drove off, and officers later stopped and arrested Haobsh at an ARCO station near Oceanside. In his car they found Henry’s wallet, credit card, Social Security number, the victims’ phones and tablet (wrapped in foil), an expended shell casing and — in the trunk beneath the spare tire — a firearm, a suppressor and ammunition. Haobsh was armed at arrest with a 9mm handgun in view on the floorboard; he also had his passport and “go bags” with clothes and other items. The murder weapon used at the scene was a .22; investigators compared bullet fragments and ammunition recovered at the scene, on the victims and in Haobsh’s possessions, and linked key pieces of evidence.
Haobsh waived his Miranda rights and spoke to detectives, offering a dramatic story: he said he’d gone to the Hans’ home to install a “perpetual energy” device he had invented and claimed shadowy figures were after him. He later told an acquaintance, marijuana grower TJ Direda, that he had killed Henry, Jennie and Emily and described details — how he wrapped the bodies and how he couldn’t move Henry because he was heavy — details prosecutors said only the killer would know. Direda alerted investigators after Haobsh had texted him asking for help moving something; Direda led detectives to a Thousand Oaks location where Haobsh had been earlier that same day.
Prosecutors built a detailed timeline and case tying Haobsh to the Hans’ home in the days before the murders. They found that while staying at the house prior to the killings Haobsh had installed spyware on Han’s computer — a keylogger — and that the keylogger recorded searches about ballistics and vulnerable parts of the skull. Haobsh had also purchased ammunition and two handguns in Arizona days before the murders; receipts and time‑stamped security video placed him buying a .22 pistol with a threaded barrel (for a silencer) days earlier. Records showed Haobsh bought the plastic wrap and duct tape used to wrap the victims. Haobsh’s car contained an expended shell casing and other incriminating items; he had used the victims’ personal information to try to drain money from Han’s accounts after the murders and had rented a large truck investigators believe he intended to use to move the bodies.
Haobsh’s pretrial statements were inconsistent and fantastical: he told detectives at various times that he’d been shot at, that many people connected with his “project” were dead, that government agencies like the Department of Energy were involved in a conspiracy, and that he had been framed. The defense argued that Haobsh’s accounts were implausible but also tried to create reasonable doubt about some forensic links, raising questions about whether the gun and suppressor found in Haobsh’s car were conclusively matched to the recovered bullets and pointing to timing/GPS discrepancies in the prosecution’s timeline. Defense counsel also impeached witness testimony, for example asking why Direda had not immediately contacted police after Haobsh’s alleged confession. Prosecutors countered with multiple corroborating forensic and digital pieces of evidence, store surveillance, the Home Depot video, the keylogger searches, Haobsh’s attempts to use Han’s identity to move money, and the physical evidence in Haobsh’s vehicle.
Within 48 hours of the discovery of the bodies, police had arrested Haobsh. He was charged with three counts of first‑degree murder. At an expedited bench trial (the death penalty was waived in exchange for a bench trial rather than a jury trial), the judge found Haobsh guilty on all counts. In October 2021 the judge said his decision was “beyond a shadow of a doubt.” On April 15, 2022, Pierre Haobsh was sentenced to three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.
The killings devastated Han’s patients, colleagues and the Santa Barbara community. Friends and associates remembered Han as a healer who drew patients from across the country, a devoted husband and father, and a partner in medical and business ventures. Jennie was described as his trusted collaborator and Emily as a playful, bright child. For those who knew them, the sentence brought conviction but little consolation. Family members, friends and patients said they continue to grieve the loss of Henry, Jennie and Emily and to mourn the “senseless, depraved” nature of the crime.