A San Francisco tech worker accused of the 2023 stabbing death of his girlfriend, Kimberly Wong, has entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. The move by 31-year-old Scott Fisher comes as a last-minute shift in a case that has drawn significant attention to the intersections of domestic violence and mental health in the tech community.
Fisher originally pleaded not guilty to the murder of Wong, a 27-year-old product designer. With this new plea, the legal process will now split into two distinct phases. First, a jury must determine whether Fisher is guilty of the crime. If they find him guilty, a second trial will follow to decide if he was legally insane at the time of the killing.
In the days leading up to her death on November 30, 2023, Wong told friends she was increasingly frightened by Fisher’s behavior. Witnesses at a preliminary hearing described a period of “mental deterioration” for the defendant. Fisher had reportedly become obsessed and paranoid about artificial intelligence.
Wong’s friends testified that Fisher’s actions had become unpredictable. One week before the attack, he allegedly lunged at her while she was in the shower. The morning before she died, Wong told a friend she woke up to Fisher shaking her. Fearful, she spent that night at a friend’s house after driving Fisher to his father’s home in Oakland.
The Day of the Attack
Believing Fisher had stabilized, Wong picked him up on the morning of November 30 to return to their Presidio Heights apartment. Surveillance footage shows the couple entering the building at 10:49 a.m. Less than half an hour later, Fisher was seen leaving alone.
When Wong stopped responding to messages, her worried friends called for a police welfare check. Officers entered the Clay Street apartment through a window and found Wong’s body in the kitchen. She had been stabbed multiple times. A chef’s knife was found near her body. Forensic tests later confirmed Fisher’s DNA was on the handle and Wong’s DNA was on the blade.
Psychological Evaluation Ordered
Following the plea change, Judge Gloria Rhynes appointed two psychological experts to evaluate Fisher’s mental state. Fisher was arrested a week after the killing at a behavioral health center in Concord, where his father had taken him for a psychiatric hold. At the time of his arrest, police noted dried blood on his shoes.
Read more: Man Who Randomly Shot And Killed Pregnant Korean American Woman Found Not Guilty Due to “Insanity”
While the defense previously suggested an intruder could have been responsible, the focus has now shifted entirely to Fisher’s psychiatric condition. More than a dozen of Wong’s family and friends attended the Monday hearing. Fisher, who is being held without bail, smiled and waved to a lone supporter in the gallery before being led away.
The court expects to review the findings of the psychological experts in early May.
