Deal reached with gunman in murder-for-hire killing of dentist

The man accused of killing a well-liked dentist in California in a murder-for-hire plot arranged by her longtime partner to collect her millions has reached a sentencing agreement with prosecutors, according to the Office of the Alameda County District Attorney.

Hasheem Bason, 35, will be sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison on August 20 for the deadly shooting of Dr. Lili Xu, who practiced at her dental office in Castro Valley, CA, according to a press release dated July 30 from the district attorney's office.

Hasheem Bason and Nelson Chia. Images courtesy of the Oakland Police Department.

Nelson Chia purportedly arranged the murder of his 60-year-old romantic partner with Bason, whose sentencing deal came following his no-contest plea to second-degree murder, to gain access to her net worth of at least $12 million. On October 28, 2022, just hours after his arrest, Chia, 73, of Oakland, took his life in a holding cell in jail.

"In this case, we learned extreme mitigating circumstances that had to be considered in resolving the case against Mr. Bason," District Attorney Pamela Price said in the release. "The public should know that the person who truly deserves the maximum punishment under the law is Nelson Chia, the mastermind of this horrible crime."

On the afternoon of August 21, 2022, Xu and Chia exited her parked car in Oakland. Bason reportedly exited a vehicle, pulled out a gun, and fired multiple rounds, fatally striking the dentist. Xu was taken to a local hospital, where she died from her wounds.

A month before she was killed, Xu discovered that Chia reportedly had been unfaithful to her multiple times. During this time, Chia allegedly was trying to gain control of her money, and the police investigation revealed that he openly discussed how he could capitalize on Xu's death. Wiretapping revealed Chia's discussions with Bason and his role in the murder-for-hire scheme.

After the murder, video evidence showed Chia hosted a banquet in honor of Xu and attempted to raise money for his own foundation. He purportedly played the role of the grieving partner while devising her murder, according to the release.

A subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Bason. Chia had allegedly established an inappropriate exploitative relationship with Bason when he was a vulnerable youth, the news release states. Years later, Chia allegedly tracked Bason down and threatened to reveal the secrets from his adolescence unless he helped him with the murder scheme. Authorities received convincing information that Chia may have exploited Bason's history to manipulate him into taking part in the plot to kill Xu, according to the release.