MORRISTOWN — A 43-year-old Parsippany man was sentenced today to 20 years in state prison for stabbing his wife to death in the Parsippany sushi restaurant where they both worked.

Jiu Jian Zheng, who was originally charged with murder, pleaded guilty last month to a reduced charge of aggravated manslaughter in the Oct. 5, 2012 incident.

Zheng, who was not an owner of the restaurant, Kazumi Sushi, was “provoked” by the “relationship” between his wife, Yun Fei “Wendy” Lin, 34, and her business partner, Ren Lin, who were co-owners of the restaurant, said Zheng’s public defender, Jessica Moses. In an interview, Moses acknowledged it was a romantic relationship.

Under the sentence imposed by Superior Court Judge Stuart Minkowitz in Morristown, Zheng must serve 17 years in prison before he will become eligible for parole. After his release, Zheng will likely face deportation to his native China.

Minkowitz accepted the 20-year sentence that was recommended by the prosecutor’s office as part of the plea agreement.

The judge said Zheng showed “no remorse” for his actions in “stabbing his wife repeatedly after punching her.” Yun "Wendy" Lin was found on the blood-splattered floor of the restaurant's kitchen about an hour after its closing time.

Zheng expressed regret only over losing the couple’s twin 8-year-old boys, who are now in foster care, Minkowitz said.

Moses had requested a lesser term of 15 years for Zheng. She said his “frustration” over his wife’s “relationship outside of marriage” with her business partner “escalated to a point that was unnecessary” and resulted in the “altercation” at the restaurant that night.

Zheng “speaks of the children often” and now “will be deprived of watching them grow up,” Moses added.

Zheng had only a fifth-grade education in China and had worked hard all his life, Moses said. He had the primary responsibility for taking care of the children and wanted to move with them to New York, where he had lived previously, she added.

However, based on the “emotions” and “circumstances” of the day, Zheng “acted in a way that was clearly contrary to the way he really was,” Moses said.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Julie Serfess countered that if Zheng were truly concerned about his children, he wouldn’t have done what he did.

By committing a “vicious murder,” Zheng “robbed two 8-year-old boys of both their parents,” Serfess said.

Pointing out that Zheng was originally charged with murder, Serfess urged the judge to keep the recommended 20-year sentence. She cited the “numerous” stab wounds inflicted by Zheng on his wife, noting that “almost her entire hand was sliced off.”

Zheng also pleaded guilty last month to attempted aggravated assault on Ren Lin, admitting that he took a stick – about the length of a broom handle – to Lin’s nearby residence, but was unable to attack him because he was locked in a room.

No relatives of either the defendant or the victim were in court today. However, Serfess read a letter from Yun “Wendy” Lin’s parents, who said: “It’s extremely difficult for us to accept the fact that we have lost our daughter and cannot take care of the grandchildren ourselves.”

Also in court today was a man from Yun “Wendy” Lin’s church congregation in Parsippany. The man, who did not give his name, said the killing was “a shock.”

Yun Lin was “a very very pleasant person,” he said. “There was no sign to indicate there was any problem at home.”

The man said he had also visited Zheng in jail, “to find out what is going to happen in the future,” but had not discussed the stabbing.

Zheng is “lonely in jail,” where virtually no one else speaks his language, Mandarin Chinese, the man said.

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