Sy Van Nguyen was suffocated by his son-in-law at his Santa Rosa, California, home, cops say (KGO).
Police in California arrested a 71-year-old man after surveillance video allegedly showed he suffocated his 94-year-old father-in-law.
Sy Van Nguyen passed away on August 11 at his home in Santa Rosa, located on the 5800 block of River Road, which is approximately 65 miles north of San Francisco. Initially, paramedics deemed the death to be natural, according to a statement from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
However, on Friday, Nguyen’s son approached the deputies with some crucial evidence. There were surveillance cameras installed in Nguyen’s bedroom, and after observing his father’s death, his son sensed something unusual and decided to review the footage.
“While watching the video, he saw the suspect take a plastic bag and a pillow, and use them to suffocate the victim, all caught on camera,” explained Sonoma County Sheriff Sgt. Juan Valencia to ABC affiliate KGO.
The suspect, identified as Khanh Trong Tran, resided on Nguyen’s property but in a separate house. When deputies went to the location, they couldn’t find him there. He was later found at around 4:15 a.m. on Saturday, near a vehicle on the 1700 block of Marlow Road, and was apprehended.
Valencia said Tran admitted to killing his father-in-law.
“The suspect told detectives that he grew weary of caring for his father-in-law, who was 94 years old,” Valencia informed KGO.
Tran is now facing a murder charge.
“This is a straight-up, cold malice murder,” Valencia declared.
KGO spoke with neighbors who said Nguyen typically kept to himself. Tran was known to hike around the area, which consists of several vineyards.
“There should be other solutions besides resorting to this,” said neighbor Rod Burglund, who knew the suspect as Ken. “In the neighborhood, we mostly knew Ken as someone who kept to himself. I even made wine from his grapes one year. He always seemed like an honest person to me.”
Tran is in the Sonoma County Jail without bond. His next court date is scheduled for Sept. 15.
