HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – A doctor charged with killing a Yale University physician over a workplace dispute pleaded no contest Friday to lesser charges and agreed to serve 32 years in prison.
Lishan Wang, a Chinese citizen from Beijing, was charged with murder for the 2010 killing of Dr. Vajinder Toor and with attempted murder for shooting at Toor’s pregnant wife, who wasn’t hurt, outside the couple’s home in Branford.
Wang, 51, pleaded to reduced charges of manslaughter, attempted assault and gun crimes during a hearing in New Haven Superior Court. Sentencing is set for Sept. 22.
The pleas ended seven years of legal battles over Wang’s competency and his wish to represent himself. Wang has been under a judge’s order to be forcibly medicated against his will for mental illness so he can remain competent to stand trial – an issue that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“It’s a fair resolution of a very complex case,” said Wang’s public defender, Thomas Ullmann. “The competency issue poses some real dilemmas in terms of defense strategy and how the state approaches the case.”