Background:

• On November 4, 2025, Gathron was found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder (for Huang’s death) and nearly two dozen additional violent crimes.

• On November 25, 2025, a judge announced that Gathron will be sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus 31 years in state prison, including at least one life term without the possibility of parole.

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Sasanna Yee’s Speech at Keonte Gathron's Pre-Sentencing on 11/25/2025:

Your Honor, members of the Court,

My name is Sasanna Yee, and I am the granddaughter of Yik Oi Huang, whose name means Abundant Love. My grandmother was more than a victim of violence; she was the heart of our family and the spirit of our neighborhood. She loved gardening, watching Chinese soap operas, and sharing simple meals like steamed fish and egg rolls.

For more than 17 years, my grandmother served as an ambassador of the Visitacion Valley Friendship Club, a senior and advocacy group supporting the Chinese immigrant community. She helped neighbors access services, encouraged them to vote, and welcomed new members during her daily walks around the park. She brought people together with warmth, humility, and generosity — whether she was sharing food, recycling cans for her neighbors, or connecting with people at Sunnydale’s food assistance program. Her presence strengthened our community.

On January 8, 2019, everything changed. I was awakened by a phone call and ran down the hill to the park. There, I found my grandmother unconscious on the ground — swollen, bruised, cold, and broken near the playground she loved. That image will stay with me for the rest of my life.

For months afterward, I woke from nightmares. I struggled to breathe under the weight of what I had seen — the weight of what had happened. And after my grandmother passed away in January 2020, I carried a heavy guilt, believing I somehow should have done more to save her.

I am grateful to the friend who helped me access free therapy at UCSF’s Trauma Recovery Center. The sessions eased some of the pain and helped me shoulder the burden I was carrying. But there will always be a scar. What happened will never truly be okay.

And yet, I have tried to honor my grandmother by transforming my pain into purpose — by drawing on what she taught me, and some of her Abundant Love, to find small moments of beauty in the midst of great ugliness. I helped form a nonprofit called Communities As One, to bring people together across racial lines, to face violence with healing, and to remind each other that we are medicine for one another.

My grandmother’s death became a call to action — for me and for the community — to care for our elders, to listen across differences, and to move our collective energy away from fear and hatred, toward love and compassion. I learned that true justice is not only punishment; it is also restoration and prevention. The renaming of the Yik Oi Huang Peace and Friendship Park stands as a testament to that vision. Everyone deserves to walk safely in their neighborhood at any time of day or night. My grandmother would be proud of what has been done in her name.

Over the years, I have tried to understand how a teenager could cause such profound harm. What I see are not excuses, but failures — systemic and structural failings that surround many vulnerable young people. Failings in our schools, where lack of funding means that counseling and guidance are often unavailable. Failings in our mental-health systems, where childhood trauma goes untreated. Failings in neighborhoods marked by poverty and disinvestment, where teens lack safe programs and healthy outlets. Failings in our larger society, where families under strain receive too little support, and some children grow up feeling unseen and unsupported.

None of this excuses what happened. But it helps explain the conditions in which harm can take root.

That said, accountability is essential. To me, accountability means that the person who caused harm understands the impact of his actions — enough to feel the weight of what he did, enough to take responsibility for it, enough to repent and reform, and then enough to repair what can be repaired, both inside and outside prison walls. I believe no one is disposable. And I also believe everyone must face the consequences of their actions and do the hard work of becoming worthy of reintegration.

I still carry grief. But I also carry hope — hope that this tragedy can move us all toward a deeper humanity.

Your Honor, I ask this Court to remember my grandmother’s Abundant Love. I ask that whatever sentence is given reflects the seriousness of the harm, but also contains within it the seeds of healing — for the defendant, for our community, and for everyone who has witnessed this case.

My wish is always for healing.

Finally, I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who cared for my grandmother, who held this case with integrity, and who supported my family through this heartbreaking journey.

 Thank you.

About Chinese American Democratic Club 
Since 1958, Chinese American Democratic Club (CADC) has been empowering the
Chinese American community
and uplifting families and young
people in San Francisco.
As the oldest political club in
the United States for Chinese
Americans, CADC has been on
the forefront of advancing the
Civil Rights movement,
anti-discrimination efforts, and
the recent Stop Asian Hate
campaign.