A 94-year-old California man — initially believed to have died from natural causes inside his ritzy hilltop vineyard mansion — was allegedly murdered by his son-in-law, who was “tired of providing” for him, according to local cops.
Sy Van Nguyen was found dead at his Santa Rosa home on Aug. 11 after his son-in-law, Khanh Trong Tran, 71, discovered him unresponsive, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.
First responders said that there were “no signs of trauma or foul play” when they arrived and released the patriarch’s body to his family.
Then, on Aug. 15, Nguyen’s son provided evidence to deputies that pointed out that the death was “not natural, but instead an intentional killing.”
A security camera was inside the room where the elderly Nguyen was at the time, and his son, feeling something was off about his father’s death, reviewed the footage — finding damming proof Nguyen did not die from natural causes.
The footage allegedly captured Tran “basically grab a plastic bag and a pillow, put it over the victim’s face, suffocating him on camera,” Sonoma County Sheriff’s Sgt. Juan Valencia told ABC 7.
“This is a straight up, cold malice murder.”
Detectives arrested Tran — who lived on Nguyen’s property — on murder charges on Aug. 16, the day after police received the startling evidence.
Valencia said the alleged killer son-in-law admitted to killing his father-in-law.
Following his arrest, Tran revealed to investigators that he carried out the killing because he was “tired of providing for his father-in-law.”
The murder has rattled residents of the posh Bay Area community.
Neighbor Rod Burglund told ABC7 that the 94-year-old kept to himself mostly, but was shocked to find out Tran — who he knew as “Ken” — was behind the murder.
“There’s got to be alternatives than coming to this,” he said.
“You know most of the people in the neighborhood, Ken was always doing his own thing, a walking acquaintance. I made wine from his grapes one year. To me he seemed like an above board kind of guy,” Burglund said.
Tran has been booked into the Sonoma County Jail and is being held without bond.
His next court date is scheduled for Sept. 15.
