West Valley murder

Cupertino (CA)--On Wednesday January 18, 2017, 70-year-old Gin Lu “Tommy” Shwe was reported missing by his family to West Valley Patrol deputies. The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Homicide & Major Crimes detectives followed a trail of leads that led to the arrest of Christopher Ellebracht and the discovery of Mr. Shwe’s strangled body in a shallow grave in Tulare County. The arrest came after detectives learned Ellebracht attempted to cash a $10,000 dollar check from Mr. Shwe’s account and was observed on video purchasing a shovel at Home Depot the morning of Mr. Shwe’s reported disappearance. Ellebracht will be arraigned for murder, financial elder abuse, and forgery in Superior Court later this afternoon.

Mr. Shwe was an active and well-known resident of the Cupertino community and a prominent member of the greater Chinese community in the Bay Area. He formally served on the Cupertino School Board and worked as a local real estate professional.