A former University of Utah lab technician pleaded guilty and mentally ill Tuesday to attempted murder in the shooting of her boy-friend.
Zhang, 32, was charged with the second-degree felony last year after the Nov. 29 incident in the school's genetics laboratory. Prosecutors said she fired six shots at Ping Yu from a .380-caliber handgun.Two of the bullets struck Yu. He has recovered from the injuries.
Zhang will be sentenced in 3rd District Court on Oct. 16 and prosecutors at that time will join with a defense motion to reduce the charge to a third-degree felony, said defense attorney Ed Brass.
"There are some mitigating factors here . . . her mental capacities and the fact that she has no criminal history," Brass said.
The current charge carries a possible sentence of one to 15 years in prison. If reduced, Zhang would face zero to five years.
Third District Judge David Young will decide whether to accept the deal. He could order the woman to the Utah State Hospital or to prison.
Yu testified in January that the shooting came after he told Zhang he was returning to China. He said he thought the woman took that to mean he was returning to the country to be married.