2 Boys, 12 and 14, Held in Viet Woman’s Slaying

Two boys, aged 12 and 14, were arrested in the slaying of a Vietnamese mother of 14 who was shot to death during an attempted robbery as she was praying in the bedroom of her Santa Ana home, police said Tuesday.

The Vietnamese juveniles have been held in Orange County Juvenile Hall since they were arrested Friday, Santa Ana police spokeswoman Maureen Thomas said. The boys, both of Santa Ana, are not related, she said.

Each boy has been charged with murder, Deputy Dist. Atty. Brent Romney said Tuesday.

“We feel they were involved in the robbery-homicide,” Thomas said.

But she said neither of the boys arrested Friday was believed to have actually shot Hoang Huyen Ngo on May 5.

Police delayed disclosure of the arrests until Tuesday to avoid jeopardizing their search for three other suspects in the case, she said.

Thomas said that five Vietnamese youths, ages 12 to 20, burst into the home and held family members in the living room while one searched the house, apparently intent on robbery.

When he came upon Ngo, 46, praying in her bedroom, he shot her to death, police said.

The victim lived with her husband, Trung Duc Ngo, 59, and 12 of her 14 children in Santa Ana. The family has been on welfare since Ngo was laid off from a job as a computer technician two years ago.