Yuan Yuan Lu came to the United States from China with her father as a child in 2009, planning to build a better life together. At 28, Lu had a bright future ahead of her. But life changed in an instant on February 7, 2026. Lu reportedly went to the Philadelphia Police Department that evening to report a sexual assault. She alleged her abusive ex-boyfriend, Yujun Ren, had attacked her. Hours later, Lu was dead, and prosecutors say Ren killed her. Now, her family wants justice for a brave woman whose life came to a tragic end.
WPVI reported that Ren turned himself in to police and led investigators to Outlook Lane in Levittown on February 8. They found Lu in her car with a gunshot wound to the head.
“All we know is that there was some kind of domestic relationship,” Sergeant Jason Mancuso with the Bristol Township Police Department said. “We believe the couple resided in Philadelphia, and at some point, the relationship had taken a turn for the worst, and the victim had come back to her residence in Bucks County.”
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office shared details of the case in a news release. After she reported the assault to the police, Ren allegedly stalked Lu’s vehicle and shot her inside the car. Police arrested Ren, who faces charges of criminal homicide, possession of an instrument of a crime, and stalking.
“Today’s tragic event is a sobering reminder of the lethal nature of domestic violence. Thanks to the swift, coordinated response from the Bristol Township Police Department, the Middletown Township Police Department, and our Bucks County Detectives, we have successfully taken the defendant into custody, and the community is safe,” Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan shared in the release.
In a GoFundMe, Lu’s cousin, Natalie Truong, described the fear the young woman lived with daily. “Yuan Yuan had been in an abusive relationship and lived in constant fear for her life. She only recently found the courage to open up to friends and family about what she was experiencing and went to the police seeking help,” she wrote.
Lu’s mother and brother lived in China, and her father recently returned to his home country for a visit.
“Breaking this devastating news to her parents over the phone was heartbreaking, no parent should ever have to learn of their child’s death this way,” Truong added on the GFM page. “Yuan Yuan was a bright, kind, and bubbly person who brought joy to everyone around her. She rarely showed her pain and didn’t want to burden others, choosing to struggle silently until it was too late.”
We cannot imagine the pain Lu’s family feels. She was brave and strong until the very end. She deserved love and light.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic abuse, you can find help and support at DVIS.org, the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or by contacting your local women’s shelter (domesticshelters.org).
