Hasheem Bason Receives 15 Years to Life Sentence for His Role in the Murder-for-Hire Deadly Shooting of Lili Xu
July 30, 2024
OAKLAND, CA — Today, Hasheem Bason (35) was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison following a no-contest plea to second-degree murder for the August 21, 2022, deadly shooting of Lili Xu.
The investigation of the case revealed that Dr. Xu’s murder was orchestrated by her romantic partner, Nelson Chia. The month before she was killed, Dr. Xu discovered that Mr. Chia was involved in multiple acts of infidelity while he was simultaneously trying to take control of her sizable assets. Further investigation uncovered evidence of Mr. Chia openly discussing how he could capitalize on Dr. Xu’s death.
After the murder, video evidence showed Mr. Chia held a banquet in Dr. Xu’s honor and attempted to raise money for his own foundation, playing the role of the grieving partner while being the mastermind of a murder-for-hire scheme responsible for her death.
Subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Hasheem Bason as one of the participants in Chia’s scheme to murder Dr. Xu. The investigation also revealed that Chia had allegedly established an inappropriate exploitative relationship with Mr. Bason when Mr. Bason was a vulnerable youth. Years later, Chia allegedly tracked Mr. Bason down and threatened to reveal the secrets of his youth unless Mr. Bason assisted him in the plot to murder Dr. Xu. Investigators received compelling information that Chia may have exploited Mr. Bason’s history to manipulate Mr. Bason into taking part in the crime.
“The shooting death of popular dentist Lili Xu traumatized our entire community. In this case, we learned extreme mitigating circumstances that had to be considered in resolving the case against Mr. Bason,” said DA Price. “The public should know that the person who truly deserves the maximum punishment under the law is Nelson Chia, the mastermind of this horrible crime. Unfortunately, when the true facts were discovered, Chia, who was arrested for the crime, took his own life to avoid facing justice for his role in these acts of evil. Although Hasheem Bason was not the person who made the plan to take the life of Lili Xu, he did, in fact, pull the trigger of the gun that killed her, and for that, he will go to prison for 15 years to life.”
Hasheem Bason will return to Wiley E. Manual Courthouse for final sentencing on August 20, 2024.
Contact: damedia@acgov.org
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office (DAO) is one of California’s largest prosecutors’ offices and is led by Alameda County’s first Black woman District Attorney Pamela Y. Price. Price brings her vision to this office to fairly administer justice in the pursuit of thriving, healthy, and safe communities for every person who steps foot in Alameda County, no matter their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, income, or zip code. Price has been recognized as one of the most progressive prosecutors through her forward-thinking, innovative strategies to interrupt cycles of violence and crime and bring change to a criminal justice system rooted in systemic racism. Follow Madam DA on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and @AlamedaCountyda on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.