Charges In Garden Grove Triple Homicide Could

[SoulTrainOz]

Bring Death Penalty

In Santa Ana, charges that could bring the death penalty were filed Monday against an ex-con accused of the May 29 murders of a couple and their 6-year-old son, who were stabbed to death in their Garden Grove home.

Quang Van Quan, who was brought back to Orange County on Friday from Texas to face triple murder charges, is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Santa Ana, but prosecutors say the proceeding will likely be postponed.

Quan faces special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder during the commission of another felony, robbery, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

The complaint also alleges that Quan has two felony convictions from 1990.

Quan was arrested last Wednesday night at his Houston residence on suspicion of killing Phong Hung Le, 30, Trish Dawn Lam, 25, and her son, Tommy Lam, who were found dead in their home at 8711 Summercrest Circle.

The couple's 10-month-old daughter, who had been kicked or beaten and left for dead, crawled around the home for at least 2 days after her family was killed, police said. She was initially hospitalized in serious condition but has since been placed in protective custody.

The 35-year-old suspect, also known as Con, knew Le because they spent time together in prison in the mid-1990s, according to police, who said Friday they believe the victim owed Quan a "large debt."

According to Deputy Police Chief Kevin Rainey, the men met when Le was imprisoned for armed robbery and Quan was serving a 14-year sentence for an armed home invasion robbery.

The onetime Los Angeles resident was booked at the Orange County Jail with bail set at $3 million, but prosecutors plan to ask a judge to hold Quan without bail.

Rainey told reporters on Friday night that the crime started out as a home invasion robbery.

"The victims were bound, at least 2 of them, and we believe that the victims were tortured before they were killed," he said.

Rainey said forensic experts who "have thousands and thousands of times entered crime scenes of homicides ... felt this was one of the most gruesome homicides they've ever worked on."

The Orange County Sheriff's Department crime lab worked "night and day ... for us in an attempt to find out who these suspects are through forensic evidence," he added.

Investigators have said they believe at least 2 suspects are responsible for the killings, but no other arrests have been made.

Prior to Quan's arrest last week, Sgt. Paul McInerny said information obtained from separate credible sources had led investigators to focus on a suspect who went by the name "Quang," pronounced "Wang."

Another name that surfaced in the investigation was "Con," pronounced "Cong," and detectives had speculated that could be a nickname for Quang.

According to a Garden Grove Police Department statement, investigators believe Quan returned to Houston several days after the murders.

Nearly 2 dozen search warrants have been served in the case in Orange and Los Angeles counties and Houston, resulting in evidence supporting Quan's arrest "as one of the primary suspects," said Garden Grove police Lt. Mike Handfield.

Noting the investigation is ongoing, he said information was still being sought from the public, who can call the department's 24-hour number at 714-638-6611.

(source: NBC News)

[SoulTrainOz]

A Houston man may face the death penalty in connection with the slayings of 3 members of a family, including a 6-year-old boy, in Orange County, Calif.

Quang Van Quan, 35, was charged with 3 counts of murder Monday in the May 29 stabbing deaths of Phuong Hung Le, 30, his wife, Ngoc Lam, and Lam's son, Tommy.

The couple's 10-month-old daughter was found alive in a soiled diaper.

She appeared to have been beaten and was believed to have crawled around the bodies for 2 days before police found the macabre scene during a welfare check.

"Thank God we found her before she died," said Susan Schroeder, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office.

Quan is the primary suspect, but police were still searching for at least 1 other suspect. The Associated Press reported that police believed Quan, who had met Le in prison, helped kill the family while trying to recover thousands of dollars in debt.

Prosecutors are releasing no details about a motive, or about Quan's possible relationship to the victims, Schroeder said.

"It's hard to believe what the motive would be to kill a 6-year-old and leave a 10-month-old to crawl around the dead bodies of her family," she said.

Quan is a Houston resident who had previously lived in Los Angeles, Schroeder said.

An arraignment scheduled for Tuesday was rescheduled for Aug. 1.

Quan's charges make him eligible for the death penalty in California, Schroeder said, because he allegedly committed multiple murders during the commission of a robbery.

At least 2 of the victims were bound and tortured before they were killed, police told the AP. Police found the bodies in the family's home in Garden Grove, about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Quan was arrested in Houston last week on a fugitive warrant and extradited to California this week, Schroeder said.

He had 2 prior felony convictions in California for separate assault and robbery arrests in 1990. Under California law, he faces at least life in prison without the possibility of parole.

(source: Houston Chronicle)