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| The Death of a Family, and an American Dream | The Death of a Family, and an American Dream |
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| His younger daughter was the last to go into the ground. Before her had gone her sister, her younger brother and the baby, William. Too small for his own coffin, he lay nestled beside their mother. | His younger daughter was the last to go into the ground. Before her had gone her sister, her younger brother and the baby, William. Too small for his own coffin, he lay nestled beside their mother. |
| After American soil had covered his family’s coffins, Yilin Zhuo had nothing left to stay for. In early December, he abandoned his adopted home, Brooklyn, for the Chinese village he had come from two decades ago. | After American soil had covered his family’s coffins, Yilin Zhuo had nothing left to stay for. In early December, he abandoned his adopted home, Brooklyn, for the Chinese village he had come from two decades ago. |
| “A father just wants to see his children grow up,” he said, hours before his flight. “Now my children are gone. My wife is gone. Can I ever be happy again?” | “A father just wants to see his children grow up,” he said, hours before his flight. “Now my children are gone. My wife is gone. Can I ever be happy again?” |
| Linda was 9; Amy, 7; Kevin, 5; and William, just 1. They and their mother, Qiaozhen Li, 37, were found stabbed to death in late October in their Sunset Park apartment. A cousin who had been staying with the family was arrested after the police found him there, his clothes spattered with blood, a large kitchen knife nearby. | Linda was 9; Amy, 7; Kevin, 5; and William, just 1. They and their mother, Qiaozhen Li, 37, were found stabbed to death in late October in their Sunset Park apartment. A cousin who had been staying with the family was arrested after the police found him there, his clothes spattered with blood, a large kitchen knife nearby. |
| It was family violence on a scale rarely seen in New York City, set in motion, the cousin told the police, by his sense of failure to find the security, stability and family all newcomers to Brooklyn’s Chinatown seek. | It was family violence on a scale rarely seen in New York City, set in motion, the cousin told the police, by his sense of failure to find the security, stability and family all newcomers to Brooklyn’s Chinatown seek. |
| Until that Saturday night, the household had been one more poor immigrant family among the thousands who have emptied the towns and villages around Fuzhou, in the Fujian Province in southeastern China, for Sunset Park. | Until that Saturday night, the household had been one more poor immigrant family among the thousands who have emptied the towns and villages around Fuzhou, in the Fujian Province in southeastern China, for Sunset Park. |
| Once in New York, the men board buses for jobs in the Chinese takeout shops and buffets that sprout improbably along neon-lit highways and inside small-town strip malls: west to Michigan, north to Maine, south to Georgia. America’s Chinese restaurants are a diaspora of the Fuzhounese, nearly half a million of them hoping, like generations of immigrants before them, that long hours and low wages will someday make their uprooting worth it. | Once in New York, the men board buses for jobs in the Chinese takeout shops and buffets that sprout improbably along neon-lit highways and inside small-town strip malls: west to Michigan, north to Maine, south to Georgia. America’s Chinese restaurants are a diaspora of the Fuzhounese, nearly half a million of them hoping, like generations of immigrants before them, that long hours and low wages will someday make their uprooting worth it. |
| Mr. Zhuo, 41, was one such worker. His cousin, Mindong Chen, 25, was another. Their divergent paths — one on the way up, the other now charged with murder — lay bare the reality of life in this Chinese community: crushing burdens and relentless poverty, permanent for all but a few. | Mr. Zhuo, 41, was one such worker. His cousin, Mindong Chen, 25, was another. Their divergent paths — one on the way up, the other now charged with murder — lay bare the reality of life in this Chinese community: crushing burdens and relentless poverty, permanent for all but a few. |
| Mr. Chen’s troubles were there for all to see in his postings on Qzone, a Chinese social media service. “Why is the pressure now so great?” he wrote. “The path has been so difficult.” | Mr. Chen’s troubles were there for all to see in his postings on Qzone, a Chinese social media service. “Why is the pressure now so great?” he wrote. “The path has been so difficult.” |
| Little has been told beyond the Chinese press about the people who died and about Mr. Zhuo, the father left behind, and Mr. Chen, the cousin. He is awaiting a hearing on whether he is mentally competent to stand trial for murder. | Little has been told beyond the Chinese press about the people who died and about Mr. Zhuo, the father left behind, and Mr. Chen, the cousin. He is awaiting a hearing on whether he is mentally competent to stand trial for murder. |
| Both cousins had come to New York the same way, as young men sent away from home to grind away at busboy and wok-cook jobs that offer only the merest hope of a better life. But Mr. Zhuo built his chance into a humble career, home and family. | Both cousins had come to New York the same way, as young men sent away from home to grind away at busboy and wok-cook jobs that offer only the merest hope of a better life. But Mr. Zhuo built his chance into a humble career, home and family. |
| What little he had, his cousin — struggling, envious, desperate — is accused of shattering in one night. | What little he had, his cousin — struggling, envious, desperate — is accused of shattering in one night. |
| Fired from yet another job and on the verge of deportation, Mr. Chen came to stay in the family’s 57th Street apartment in October. He gambled. He smoked. He did not act right, Ms. Li told relatives. Days before the stabbings, Mr. Chen had argued with the children. The night of Oct. 26, Ms. Li, in a call with her mother-in-law in China, told her that Mr. Chen had a knife. By the time concerned relatives came to her door and Mr. Zhuo rushed home from work, it was too late. | Fired from yet another job and on the verge of deportation, Mr. Chen came to stay in the family’s 57th Street apartment in October. He gambled. He smoked. He did not act right, Ms. Li told relatives. Days before the stabbings, Mr. Chen had argued with the children. The night of Oct. 26, Ms. Li, in a call with her mother-in-law in China, told her that Mr. Chen had a knife. By the time concerned relatives came to her door and Mr. Zhuo rushed home from work, it was too late. |
| Soon after his arrest, Mr. Chen told detectives that “everyone seems to be doing better than him” since he arrived in the United States in 2004, according to the police. | Soon after his arrest, Mr. Chen told detectives that “everyone seems to be doing better than him” since he arrived in the United States in 2004, according to the police. |
| His family, and Mr. Zhuo’s, had borrowed tens of thousands of dollars from relatives and friends for Chinese smuggling rings, known as snakeheads, to sneak their sons into New York City. | His family, and Mr. Zhuo’s, had borrowed tens of thousands of dollars from relatives and friends for Chinese smuggling rings, known as snakeheads, to sneak their sons into New York City. |
| They would speak no English, have few prospects. But there was still a chance — to support their families, repay their smuggling debts, sponsor emigrating relatives and start families. | They would speak no English, have few prospects. But there was still a chance — to support their families, repay their smuggling debts, sponsor emigrating relatives and start families. |
| The restaurant workers live by two dark jokes. One plays on the Chinese words for snakehead, stove burner and pillow, which all end in the suffix meaning “head.” “We Fujianese have three heads — snakehead, stove burner, pillow,” they say. Arrive by boat or plane, cook, sleep, wake to cook again. Jobs last between a few weeks and a few years. | The restaurant workers live by two dark jokes. One plays on the Chinese words for snakehead, stove burner and pillow, which all end in the suffix meaning “head.” “We Fujianese have three heads — snakehead, stove burner, pillow,” they say. Arrive by boat or plane, cook, sleep, wake to cook again. Jobs last between a few weeks and a few years. |
| The other saying, “ka che dian,” or “card, car, store,” refers to the green card, property and business that young men must possess before they are considered eligible to marry. But before saving for the future, they must toil for years to repay their snakehead debts, which can top $80,000. | The other saying, “ka che dian,” or “card, car, store,” refers to the green card, property and business that young men must possess before they are considered eligible to marry. But before saving for the future, they must toil for years to repay their snakehead debts, which can top $80,000. |
| “Work is our entire life. We don’t have any choice,” said James Zheng, 31, who bounced between more than 10 different restaurants across the country before opening an employment agency off Sunset Park’s Eighth Avenue, the heart of Brooklyn’s Chinatown. “They think if they keep working so hard, they can own a restaurant or own a house.” | “Work is our entire life. We don’t have any choice,” said James Zheng, 31, who bounced between more than 10 different restaurants across the country before opening an employment agency off Sunset Park’s Eighth Avenue, the heart of Brooklyn’s Chinatown. “They think if they keep working so hard, they can own a restaurant or own a house.” |
| “What they’re pursuing and what they’re living are completely different,” he added. “This is the American dream: There’s nothing to it.” | “What they’re pursuing and what they’re living are completely different,” he added. “This is the American dream: There’s nothing to it.” |
| Mr. Zhuo’s father died when he was 12. When he was 21, he was smuggled out of China for $40,000. | Mr. Zhuo’s father died when he was 12. When he was 21, he was smuggled out of China for $40,000. |
| By 2006, he had secured a long-term position as a stir-fry cook at Best Wok, a takeout shop in Rosedale, Queens, preparing dish after dish of chicken and broccoli. After he struggled to find a wife in New York, his mother set him up with a friend’s daughter in China, Ms. Li. | By 2006, he had secured a long-term position as a stir-fry cook at Best Wok, a takeout shop in Rosedale, Queens, preparing dish after dish of chicken and broccoli. After he struggled to find a wife in New York, his mother set him up with a friend’s daughter in China, Ms. Li. |
| As his family grew, Mr. Zhuo worked harder. Knowing he could not afford cigarettes, he never smoked. He declined his boss’s invitations for nights out. He saved up to help a brother pay his smuggling debts. | As his family grew, Mr. Zhuo worked harder. Knowing he could not afford cigarettes, he never smoked. He declined his boss’s invitations for nights out. He saved up to help a brother pay his smuggling debts. |
| To avoid the lengthy commute from eastern Queens, Mr. Zhuo lived like an out-of-town worker, sharing a room provided by his boss with other employees. He went home on Sundays. After 12-hour shifts ended at midnight, he and others watched TV or video chatted with their families. | To avoid the lengthy commute from eastern Queens, Mr. Zhuo lived like an out-of-town worker, sharing a room provided by his boss with other employees. He went home on Sundays. After 12-hour shifts ended at midnight, he and others watched TV or video chatted with their families. |
| Over time, the couple found some security. They paid off their snakehead debts two years ago. Both gained legal status. While others sent their children to be raised in China, Ms. Li stayed at home with their four children. They rented part of their apartment to relatives, crowding into the remaining two rooms. | Over time, the couple found some security. They paid off their snakehead debts two years ago. Both gained legal status. While others sent their children to be raised in China, Ms. Li stayed at home with their four children. They rented part of their apartment to relatives, crowding into the remaining two rooms. |
| When Mr. Chen knocked on their door this fall, he had just been fired from a job in Chicago. They offered him a meal, then a bed. | When Mr. Chen knocked on their door this fall, he had just been fired from a job in Chicago. They offered him a meal, then a bed. |
| Since arriving in the United States as a 16-year-old, Mr. Chen had had trouble holding down work. Between jobs, he gambled and smoked marijuana in illegal slot machine parlors, said his friend of several years, Tony Chen. Often agitated, he would pound his hand against the machines when he lost. | Since arriving in the United States as a 16-year-old, Mr. Chen had had trouble holding down work. Between jobs, he gambled and smoked marijuana in illegal slot machine parlors, said his friend of several years, Tony Chen. Often agitated, he would pound his hand against the machines when he lost. |
| He was usually broke, earning little but his family’s disapproval. His father, Chen Yixiang, had paid nearly $100,000 to his son’s smugglers, and still owes half that to lenders, he said. “I will never be able to see my son again,” the father said, speaking from China. “I am worse off than my son is now. My head is a mess.” | He was usually broke, earning little but his family’s disapproval. His father, Chen Yixiang, had paid nearly $100,000 to his son’s smugglers, and still owes half that to lenders, he said. “I will never be able to see my son again,” the father said, speaking from China. “I am worse off than my son is now. My head is a mess.” |
| The stream of Fuzhounese immigrants has slowed in recent years. But New York still exerts a powerful pull for those who might earn $2,000 a year at home, compared with $1,500 or $3,000 a month in a restaurant, said Kenneth J. Guest, a Baruch College anthropologist who studies the city’s Fuzhounese population. | The stream of Fuzhounese immigrants has slowed in recent years. But New York still exerts a powerful pull for those who might earn $2,000 a year at home, compared with $1,500 or $3,000 a month in a restaurant, said Kenneth J. Guest, a Baruch College anthropologist who studies the city’s Fuzhounese population. |
| In the employment agencies, men study grids of yellow Post-it notes fluttering on the walls. Each announces a job, monthly pay and a three-digit number, the restaurant’s telephone area code. For many, the names of the cities and states where they work mean little. What they know are numbers: highway exits, area codes and the time it takes to ride back to Chinatown. | In the employment agencies, men study grids of yellow Post-it notes fluttering on the walls. Each announces a job, monthly pay and a three-digit number, the restaurant’s telephone area code. For many, the names of the cities and states where they work mean little. What they know are numbers: highway exits, area codes and the time it takes to ride back to Chinatown. |
| On days off, or between jobs, they return to New York. Some keep small rooms in subdivided apartments, sharing them with as many as six roommates. Others stay with relatives. The less fortunate pay a few dollars to spend the night in Internet cafes, playing computer games until they fall asleep. | On days off, or between jobs, they return to New York. Some keep small rooms in subdivided apartments, sharing them with as many as six roommates. Others stay with relatives. The less fortunate pay a few dollars to spend the night in Internet cafes, playing computer games until they fall asleep. |
| Although Mr. Chen did not have much money or a green card, he got engaged a few years ago, Tony Chen said. But after he paid the customary bride-price — a prerequisite that can top $50,000 among the Brooklyn Fuzhounese — the woman disappeared, a not-uncommon type of marriage fraud that left Mr. Chen devastated. | Although Mr. Chen did not have much money or a green card, he got engaged a few years ago, Tony Chen said. But after he paid the customary bride-price — a prerequisite that can top $50,000 among the Brooklyn Fuzhounese — the woman disappeared, a not-uncommon type of marriage fraud that left Mr. Chen devastated. |
| “Looking at one couple after the next. Why do I feel so lonely?” he wrote on Qzone in August 2012. “I want to shout out loud: I love you.” | “Looking at one couple after the next. Why do I feel so lonely?” he wrote on Qzone in August 2012. “I want to shout out loud: I love you.” |
| In this environment, anxiety and depression run rampant. But mental illness is both stigmatized and not well understood in the community, said Paul P. Mak, the president of the Brooklyn Chinese-American Association, who recently organized a series of mental health workshops at the Zhuo children’s school. Mr. Chen has undergone psychiatric evaluation, said his lawyer, Danielle V. Eaddy. A hearing on whether he is fit to stand trial is scheduled for January. | In this environment, anxiety and depression run rampant. But mental illness is both stigmatized and not well understood in the community, said Paul P. Mak, the president of the Brooklyn Chinese-American Association, who recently organized a series of mental health workshops at the Zhuo children’s school. Mr. Chen has undergone psychiatric evaluation, said his lawyer, Danielle V. Eaddy. A hearing on whether he is fit to stand trial is scheduled for January. |
| Speaking little English and afraid of immigration authorities, many immigrants do not turn to the police when they feel they are in danger, Mr. Mak said. It is unclear whether Ms. Li sought help for Mr. Chen before Oct. 26. | Speaking little English and afraid of immigration authorities, many immigrants do not turn to the police when they feel they are in danger, Mr. Mak said. It is unclear whether Ms. Li sought help for Mr. Chen before Oct. 26. |
| Too late to save her, her family flew to New York last month for the funeral. They scattered daisies and carnations over the coffins — white flowers, the Chinese color of grief. | Too late to save her, her family flew to New York last month for the funeral. They scattered daisies and carnations over the coffins — white flowers, the Chinese color of grief. |
| Then it was time to leave. In his lap, Mr. Zhuo held a photo of his smiling wife and children as the black car pulled away. | Then it was time to leave. In his lap, Mr. Zhuo held a photo of his smiling wife and children as the black car pulled away. |
J. David Goodman contributed reporting. | J. David Goodman contributed reporting. |
| This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: |
| Correction: January 6, 2014 | |
An | Because of an editing error, an article last Monday about the struggles faced by poor immigrants from Fuzhou, China, like those involved in the killings in Brooklyn last October, referred incorrectly to the suspect’s father, Chen Yixiang. He is Mr. Chen, not Mr. Yixiang. |