BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Mountain View tutor Alice Ku’s sister Josephine Ku testified through tears about her sister’s sudden disappearance six years ago and the ongoing grief that it has inflicted on their family.
Their mom stares blankly into space, and their usually unemotional father wipes away tears anytime Alice is brought up, Josephine said.
“I don’t think they want to face it, and we don’t know how to talk about it with them,” Josephine said in front of a jury of 12 on July 14.
The Ku family and their attorney Todd Davis are suing Alice’s husband — Harald Herchen, 66, of Los Altos — for allegedly killing Alice at Taroko Gorge in Taiwan on Nov. 29, 2019.
Herchen’s attorney Chuck Smith has argued that Alice lived a life of mystery, and she ran away with their younger and better-looking tour guide.
Josephine said she still brings a picture of Alice to every family gathering.
“Even now, I still hope that she’s alive. I know that it’s stupid to think that way,” Josephine said.
Took care of her
Josephine, 10 years older than Alice, testified that she fed and dressed Alice as a baby because their parents were busy with work and six kids.
Josephine was the oldest, and Alice was the youngest. Alice loved little animals and made gifts for her siblings as a kid, Josephine said.
“She was very cute and very sweet,” Josephine said.
The family moved to Fiji, San Jose and then Los Gatos. Alice would read for hours and tried to write a novel in Mandarin, Josephine said.
Alice had dreams of opening a tutoring center one day, Josephine said.
Watching Josephine’s testimony, brother George Ku took off his glasses and wiped his eyes.
Josephine moved out of the family house when she got married around the time Alice graduated high school in 2001, and their relationship matured to be more like friends.
Close with her daughter
They texted about fashion and food and saw each other about twice a month for coffee or lunch, Josephine said.
Josephine had a daughter who was like Alice’s long-awaited younger sister, and they were very close, Josephine said.
Davis showed the jury pictures of Alice and Josephine’s daughter from August 2019. He also showed the last picture that Josephine took of Alice, smiling at Peet’s Cafe in San Jose in September 2019.
Their texts leading up to Alice’s disappearance were about their mom having eye surgery in Taiwan. Josephine flew there to help out, and Alice asked her to bring back pineapple cake and a brand of sunscreen that she liked, Josephine said.
What Josephine didn’t know is that Alice was in Taiwan at the same time — with Herchen, her secret husband, on their seventh trip to the country.
Didn’t reply to texts
Josephine said she was slightly concerned when Alice didn’t respond to texts on her 38th birthday on Dec. 2, 2019.
Josephine grew more concerned the next day when Alice didn’t respond to a text saying Josephine’s daughter had been selected as principal cellist for the New York String Orchestra Seminar.
“Yo?” Josephine texted Alice three times on Dec. 4, 2019.
Josephine told her siblings that Alice stopped responding on Dec. 6, 2019, and asked two friends to go to her Sunnyvale apartment.
A parent that Alice tutored for reached out to report that Alice had missed two tutoring sessions on Dec. 8, 2019.
The Ku family called police, hired an attorney to investigate and learned that Alice had married Herchen and moved to Mountain View two years earlier.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Josephine said.
Went to look for her
Josephine returned to Taiwan in March 2020 with her husband and daughter to look for Alice. They went to the same hotel where Herchen and Alice stayed and followed their footsteps on the only road into Taroko Gorge.
Taroko National Park is twice the size of San Jose, with steep cliffs and windy, narrow roads, Josephine said.
“That was a long ride. We drove slowly because it was very dangerous,” Josephine said.
Davis showed the jury pictures of foggy paths with no railings and rocks that dropped hundreds of feet into the ocean.
Josephine said a cafe owner, a restaurant owner and hotel workers recognized Alice from a few months ago but didn’t have any more information.
Josephine kept texting Alice until her phone number was assigned to someone else in August 2020.
Hoping for a proper burial
“It feels like I have nowhere to send my thoughts to her,” Josephine said through tears.
“Do you miss your sister?” Davis asked.
“Very much,” Josephine said.
The family had a memorial in May 2021, but Josephine said they didn’t get the comfort they were seeking. Josephine said if Alice’s body was found, they would have had a Catholic Mass and a burial.
“I hope we can have that one day,” Josephine said.
Davis showed the jury a family photo from a dinner at Santana Row for Lunar New Year in 2022, with Josephine holding up a photo of Alice.
“She’s family. She has to be there,” Josephine said.
Josephine returned to Taroko Gorge in November 2023 for the fourth anniversary of Alice’s disappearance, this time with her parents for a spiritual trip.
“We actually called out to the mountains, to the valleys, to Alice — tell her to come home with us,” Josephine said.
