Cheating, theft of vegetables and money; motive given by man who confessed to wife’s murder

By Emily Arseneau

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    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (KRDO) — During an early morning call on Sept. 1, an El Paso County man confessed to a 911 operator that he had murdered his wife, Jian Chan.

According to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO), the victim’s body was discovered at the end of Walsen Road, about 100 yards from where the suspect Stephen Chan, and his family live on Horsetail Terrace.

Court documents are providing new details on what he says led up to him murdering his wife Jian.

According to court documents, Chan walked into the Colorado Springs Police Department’s Falcon substation to turn himself in after calling 911 and admitting he killed his wife. While speaking to officers, he said that he didn’t want an attorney and that he killed Jian because he suspected she was taking his money and having an extra-marital affair.

Documents state that Chan told officers he shot Jian twice in the chest and that their two children were out of the state.

EPSO found a body in the area of Walsen Rd. and Chan was transferred into El Paso County Sheriff’s Office custody and taken to the jail.

When EPSO deputies responded to Walsen Rd., documents say that they found Jian dead in pajama pants and a t-shirt with a black sleep mask. Her hands were also bound in the front, possibly by the belt of a robe. She was partially wrapped in a bedsheet and appeared to have sustained gunshot wounds to the chest.

Back at the jail, deputies interviewed Chan. He explained that he met Jian 26 years ago in China. They wed but Chan believed that for the past 26 years, Jian was stealing money from him and his business. He claims for the last 17 years Jian had been having extra-marital affairs. He told a deputy he had confronted Jian about the cheating but she denied it and then refused to speak to him for the past two years.

Documents say that Chan claims Jian started stealing vegetables from his garden and his favorite cooking pans, along with other things he cared about. That is what led Chan to plan Jian’s murder according to Chan.

According to court documents, on the morning of Sept. 1, Chan went to Jian’s room where she was sleeping, and tied up her hands and feet after a brief struggle. He says he then dragged her down the stairs and took a break to get some water. He also confronted her about his cooking pans and, her alleged boyfriends.

Documents say that Jian denied having a boyfriend but then became quiet when Chan brought up details. She asked what he wanted and he said that she had to “pay a great price.” He later clarified to deputies that this meant she had to pay with her life for “all the bad things she had done to him.”

Documents say that Chan then loaded Jian into the backseat of the car and after she said that he “would have bad karma and would die badly,” Chan gagged her with the robe belt. Chan says he then got a gun from his safe and drove to where Jian’s body would later be discovered. He says he pulled her out of the car, grabbed the gun, and shot her twice in the chest.

After shooting Jian, documents say that Chan called 911, reported what he had done, and then drove to the police station to turn himself in.

Stephen Chan is charged with First Degree Murder and Kidnapping.

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