Inset: Shede Mao (San Jose Police Department). Background: The area in San Jose, Calif., where Shede Mao lived and allegedly killed his estranged wife (KGO/YouTube).
A California man bludgeoned and butchered his wife with a machete and dumbbells after she told him she planned to divorce him — then filmed and photographed her as she died, according to police.
The husband, Shede Mao, 55, “took two photographs” and “took two video recordings” of his 49-year-old estranged wife while she was “bloodied and injured” on the ground after his fatal attack, according to court documents obtained by Law&Crime.
Mao is accused of attacking his spouse early Monday morning at a home in San Jose. He is charged with murder in Santa Clara County.
Police and prosecutors say Mao “macheted his estranged wife to death” after repeatedly arguing with her over the past several months. The victim told Mao she wanted to divorce him earlier this year during one of their fights, and things continued to escalate between them, according to court documents.
A “roommate/coworker” told police they saw the couple “engaged in a verbal argument” on Sunday evening, June 14, at a local shopping center. “He described Shede and [the victim] at each other”s face during the argument,” the court documents say.
At around 12:45 a.m. Monday, the victim called and texted a female friend of hers after Mao allegedly attacked her. The friend “observed a photograph where [the victim] was on the ground bloody and with visible injuries,” the court documents recount.
“She also saw a text message with a location ‘drop-pin,'” according to the documents. Police say the friend called the victim’s and Mao’s phones repeatedly and Mao eventually answered and asked her to call 911.
While on the phone with Mao, the friend told police she allegedly heard the victim say, “Help,” according to the court documents. “She heard [the victim] refer to Shede as ‘husband’ and requested something to drink,” the documents say. “Shede responded that he was not her husband.”
San Jose police arrived at the home and found the victim “dead in a blood-spattered room,” according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. Upon arrival, Mao allegedly walked outside covered in blood while holding his phone.
Inside, police reported that a bedroom light fixture in the ceiling, the door, adjoining wall, and carpet were all “stained with blood.” A large machete with a “blood-stained blade” was found, along with two “blood-stained dumbbell free weights.”
Police say the victim suffered head and face injuries, cuts to her right hand and a severed finger. A forensic review of Mao’s phone showed the photos and videos he allegedly took of his estranged wife while she was on the ground, “bloodied and injured.”
Mao is being held without bail and is scheduled to appear in court on July 30 for a plea hearing, according to online records.
