Worker Pleads Not Guilty to Killing 7 at California Farms

Chunli Zhao (C) appears for a plea hearing with his defense attorney Eric Hove (L) at San Mateo Superior Court in Redwood City, Calif., on Feb. 16, 2023. David G. McIntyre/Pool/Zuma Press via AP

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—A farmworker charged with killing seven people last month in back-to-back shootings at two Northern California mushroom farms pleaded not guilty Thursday.

Chunli Zhao, 66, is charged with seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.