FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for
Fatal Stabbing Woman Who Tried to End Relationship
Defendant Stabbed Victim 35 Times; Fled the State After the Killing
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced today that a Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for fatally stabbing a Brooklyn woman outside his Sunset Park home in 2019. The defendant, who had been having an extramarital affair with the victim, launched a campaign of harassment after she attempted to end the relationship. He fled the state following the killing but was later apprehended and extradited back to New York.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This was a deeply disturbing case of domestic violence that ended in a brutal killing. After months of harassment, the defendant ambushed the victim and attacked her in front of his teenage son. I hope today’s sentence brings a measure of justice and closure to the victim’s loved ones.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Sheng Mao Chen, 48, of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. He was convicted of first-degree manslaughter on May 1, 2025, following a bench trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun. The defendant was sentenced today to 25 years in prison.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, the victim, Xiu Rong Zheng, 46, and the defendant were involved in an extramarital affair, which she ended. The defendant responded by harassing her and her husband over the course of several months.
On the evening of July 22, 2019, at approximately 10 p.m., the victim confronted the defendant outside his Sunset Park home. As she stood at his front steps, the defendant stabbed her 35 times, including five wounds directly to the heart. The attack was witnessed by the defendant’s 17-year-old son. The victim suffered numerous defensive wounds to her hands and arms, indicating she was attempting to protect herself and escape the attack. She also suffered numerous stab wounds to her back as she tried to flee. She died at the scene.
The defendant fled New York immediately after the attack but was later apprehended in Indiana during a traffic stop and returned to face justice.
The District Attorney thanked Homicide Paralegal Meghan Brancato for her work on the case.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Ernest Chin of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau and Senior Assistant District Attorney Tara Kelly of the District Attorney’s Grey Zone Trial Bureau under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Chief of the Homicide Bureau.
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