In July 2020, a cloaked assailant shot Baron Li nine times outside his home in Bellevue, Wash., nearly killing him.
Although he lived, Li’s recovery was difficult. He is the father of a special needs son and has been unable to work for more than a year, making it increasingly difficult to support his family.
Li was fortunate to have survived. He had gunshot wounds to the chest, legs, arms, and hips. Li was in and out of consciousness in the moments following the gunshot, necessitating lengthy, lifesaving surgery.
Li’s story will be featured in the upcoming edition of People Magazine Investigates. The episode, titled “Teenage Assassins,” will broadcast on Investigation Discovery on Monday, December 9, at 9/8c, and will also stream on Max.
The shooting appeared random at first, but investigators soon discovered a complex scheme involving Li’s ex-wife and a heated custody battle over their son, Arik, who has significant problems caused by a medical error early in life.
Li divorced his former wife, Shaerin Kelly, in 2015. She was initially granted custody of Arik, but he was removed from her care in 2017, with child services claiming neglect. In 2019, Li relocated to Washington with his then-fiancƩe, Didee, and her two children after gaining custody of Arik.
Custody of his son also gave Li authority over a substantial trust fund established for Arik’s care following a medical malpractice action.
Li immediately suspected Kelley was involved in his attempted murder. However, Kelley did not match the description of the shooter, who was ultimately identified as 17-year-old Joseph Good.
“I knew it wasn’t random, which is what the police initially tried to suggest,” Li told PEOPLE in 2021. “This was someone my ex-wife sent.”
Good had no evident relationship with Li. However, investigators subsequently established that he had been approached by Kelley, who offered to pay him to kill Li. Good then recruited his 17-year-old friend, Quincy Mendez, to drive the getaway car to and from the site.
Kelley even installed a GPS tracker in Li’s car so that the teenagers could track her ex-husband’s position.
The three were later arrested and have all pleaded guilty to crimes related to the shooting.
Kelley received a 13-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to attempted murder in 2023. Mendez was sentenced to almost 8 years in a juvenile correctional camp for his role in the shooting, while Good received more than 12 years.