(OAKLAND) An Antioch couple and their adult daughter will all be tried in connection with the Jan. 7 death of 91-year-old Selma Hill of Dublin.
After a preliminary hearing spanning several weeks, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Reardon on Thursday ordered Rosa Hill, 34, to be tried for premeditated murder and attempted murder. Her mother, Mei Li, 56, will be tried for premeditated attempted murder, and Rosa Hill's 68-year-old father will be tried for burglary and attempted murder without premeditation.
Prosecutors say the killing of Selma Hill, and the attempted murder of her grandson, Eric Hill, were related to a custody battle between Rosa Hill and her estranged husband, Eric Hill, over their 2-year-old daughter.
In the preliminary hearing, which began Oct. 5, the court heard testimony about the finding of Selma Hill's body. Covered with scrapes and bruises, her voice box fractured, grocery bags loosely covering her curlered head, and her body wrapped in sheets and rope, her body was found in a trash can outside her Peppertree Road home.
Detectives told the court of the chaos at the scene the night Selma Hill died. Police, called to the house by the son and daughter-in-law of Hill's fiance, arrived to find Mei Li and Rosa Hill upstairs with Eric Hill. There was a gun, Tasers, handcuffs, duct tape and a baton found at the scene.
Eric Hill had arrived home minutes before and found the son of Selma's fiance waiting
Eric Hill testified that he went into the darkened house, that he shared with his grandmother, and up the stairs to check on her. He said he was accosted there by Mei Li, who hit him with the baton, and Rosa Hill, who pulled a gun on him.
Police arrested Ping Li outside in his car, where he said he was waiting for his wife.
And after a search, police found Selma Hill's body in the garbage can.
Eric Hill had sole legal custody of the couple's daughter.
The three suspects will be arraigned on the new charges in superior court on Nov. 19. No trial date has been set.
— Reach Sophia Kazmi at 925-847-2122.





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