Man pleads no contest in daughter's murder

A Rowland Heights man pleaded no contest Wednesday to a felony charge of being an accessory after the fact in the 2003 death of his adopted daughter.

Perry Yu Lin, 37, entered his plea before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Wesley. He will be sentenced Feb. 10.

On Tuesday, Lin's wife, Dianne Buu Lin, 38, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. She was sentenced by Wesley to 15 years to life in prison.

The victim, Ellana Lin, 22 months, died Nov. 2, 2003, of blunt-force trauma, court records show. She was adopted from China by the Taiwanese- born couple.

Perry Lin knew, or should have known, that the baby was being abused and did nothing to stop it or report it, Deputy District Attorney Craig J. Mitchell said.

The girl was struck in the groin at the Lins' Royston Place home with a massage tool known as a Chinese stick that was made of wood, metal and plastic, according to court records.

Dianne Lin was pregnant when she was arrested and gave birth to a baby girl in March 2004. The county Department of Children and Family Services placed the child with a relative of Perry Lin, Mitchell said.