Man Gets 20 Years for Fatally Stabbing Wife in Lake Hiawatha Restaurant

A Parsippany man was sentenced to 20 years on Friday for stabbing his wife to death at the Kazumi Sushi restaurant on North Beverwyck Road last year.

Judge Stuart A. Minkowitz sentenced Jiu Zian Zheng, 43 formerly of Parsippany, to 20 years in state prison for the Oct. 5, 2012 death of his wife, Yun Fei Lin, 33. Zheng also received a five-year sentence for attempted aggravated assault, Acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said.

Zheng is an undocumented Chinese immigrant who operated the restaurant with his wife and admitted that he stabbed her because he believed she was interested in her business partner, Ren Lin.

Morris County Deputy Medical Examiner Doctor Carlos Fonseca said she suffered significant blood loss from multiple stab wounds. The couple has two children. 

Zheng pleaded guilty on Oct. 2 to aggravated manslaughter and aggravated assault with a weapon for an attempted assault on Ren Lin.

Zheng was arrested on Oct. 6, 2012 and charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon. Bail was set at $1 million cash. Zheng was unable to post bail and kept in the Morris County jail. The aggravated assault charge was added to the accusation after continued investigation, according to Knapp’s office.

Zheng is required to serve 85 percent of his 20-year sentence under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA) before becoming eligible for parole, for that count, which is 17 years. After his sentence ends, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has a detainer against Zheng, will take custody of the man, who left China illegally, according to the prosecutor's office.

Assistant Prosecutor Julie Serfess represented the state at the sentencing.

Knapp thanked the Parsippany Police Department, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Section, the Montville Township Police Department, the New Jersey State Police, the Glen Rock Police Department and the Assistant Prosecutors and Investigators from the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit for the efforts resulting in Friday’s sentence.