Murderer Lucy Li broke bail to go to restaurant and gym, leaving mom to pay $1M fine: Hamilton court

Samantha Beattie · CBC News

· Posted: May 26, 2025 1:16 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

While Yun Lu "Lucy" Li was waiting to spell connected proceedings for first-degree murder, she breached her bail conditions to devour luncheon astatine a edifice with a imaginable Crown witness, enactment retired astatine the gym successful her sister's luxury Toronto condo and usage her cellphone unsupervised. 

The outgo for the breach: $1 cardinal to her mom, Hong Wei Liao, as ordered by Justice Andrew Goodman successful a Hamilton courtroom May 16. 

"She ne'er imagined for a infinitesimal that her girl would ever bash thing arsenic thoughtless, selfish, irresponsible," said Liao's lawyer William Smart.

Li is presently serving a beingness condemnation with nary accidental of parole for 25 years for murdering Tyler Pratt and attempting to execution Jordyn Romano aft a assemblage recovered some her and her spouse Oliver Karafa blameworthy a twelvemonth ago. 

But earlier the trial, successful December 2021, Liao had pledged $2 cardinal erstwhile she signed arsenic a surety for Li after what Goodman described arsenic a "hotly contested" bail hearing, which helium presided over. Three of Liao's friends, including Nam Sook Bae, besides became sureties and committed different astir $1 million.

A surety is idiosyncratic who agrees to guarantee the idiosyncratic retired connected bail meets their court-ordered bail conditions. 

Bae is present required to forfeit $50,000 of the $200,000 she pledged.

"None of these radical are atrocious people," said Bae's lawyer Dean Paquette at the proceeding earlier this month. "They came guardant with the champion of intentions: to assistance idiosyncratic liberty pending a trial." 

Liao's 2 different friends don't look immoderate penalties arsenic they were not liable for Li astatine the clip of the breaches, as agreed by some the Crown and defence lawyers for the four sureties, who were each contiguous astatine the hearing, on with Li's lawyer. 

Li apologizes for 'blowing it'

The magnitude being forfeited is "exceptional," capping disconnected an "exceptional" case, said adjunct Crown lawyer Mark Dean. 

"Given the seriousness of the charges she was facing, the bonzer sums pledged and the evident flagrant quality of the breaches, determination remains a large nationalist involvement successful proceeding with forfeitures," helium said. 

"It sends a connection to the nationalist and Hamilton assemblage that promises made to the tribunal to unafraid someone's merchandise matter." 

Li's lawyer Frank Addario said she accepts afloat work for the breaches. 

"She's asked maine to convey to the tribunal her sincere regret for blowing it," helium said. "She has apologized to the sureties done maine and unluckily that's the astir she tin bash successful her existent circumstances." 

In aboriginal 2021, Li and Karafa lured Pratt and Romano, their concern partners and friends from Toronto, to a Stoney Creek warehouse nether the guise of a concealed meeting. Karafa then changeable and killed Pratt.

He besides changeable Romano successful the bosom but she escaped and was rescued by a idiosyncratic who happened to beryllium driving by. Romano was 13-weeks large and the fetus did not survive. 

Li and Karafa fled to Europe but constabulary extradited them backmost to Canada months later. 

$3M bail among highest successful Ontario

At the bail proceeding that December, Liao promised Goodman she'd "chain lock" her daughter's doorway astatine night, instal robust bars connected the model and take distant her recognition cards and quality to drive, Smart told Goodman this month. 

But Liao went retired of municipality successful May 2023 and Bae was successful complaint of Li, who was "actively manipulating and deceiving her," Paquette said.

Li told Bae she needed to conscionable with a paralegal astir a imaginable suit and that's however they ended up astatine a Chinese edifice successful Markham, a city outside of Toronto, said Paquette. Li and Bae ate luncheon with Li's 2 sisters and a antheral who was a imaginable Crown witness.

Going to the edifice and speaking to the antheral were some breaches of her bail conditions though they didn't interfere with the trial, Paquette noted.

The adjacent day, Li told Bae the paralegal gathering would really instrumentality spot astatine her sister's condo successful a five-star edifice successful downtown Toronto, Paquette said. "Foolishly, unwisely," Bae allowed Li to usage her telephone and the gym portion successful the building— 2 much breaches. 

After investigating GPS monitoring of Li, police arrested and charged her with 4 counts of breaching bail conditions and she remained successful jailhouse until her trial. The breach charges were withdrawn by the Crown erstwhile Li was sentenced for first-degree murder, which already carries the maximum sentence, said Dean. 

But adjacent without charges, Goodman has the powerfulness to bid forfeitures, which helium did.

"This is the highest magnitude I've ever ordered, and I'm not definite it's equalled successful Ontario," Goodman said. "I admit the sincerity of each the sureties and a mother's emotion for her girl successful pledging her hard-earned money, arsenic good arsenic her friends successful stepping up successful support." 

Liao and Bae person a twelvemonth to pay the court.