Trial Starts for Woman, 2 Others in Strangling of Her Alleged Lover

The murder trial unfolding in a Santa Ana courtroom may be complex and even bizarre, but one thing is certain: Quynh Duy Nguyen, office manager for a law firm in Little Saigon, was strangled and dumped into a canal on Nov. 30, 1987.

How and why Nguyen died has brought three Vietnamese defendants--including his lover, Xuan Kim Lai; her husband, Hoan Ngoc Lai, and the woman’s brother, Trung Cahn Nguyen--to trial for murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

All three defendants have pleaded innocent.

“The motive is not clear for all defendants, but involves anger on the part of Mr. Lai towards the victim,” prosecutor Thomas J. Borris said in an interview this week.

“We know and the prosecution intends to show that Mr. Lai found out his wife was having an affair with the victim and that Mr. Lai told the victim’s wife her husband was about to ‘face the consequences’ in a discussion just 2 weeks before Nguyen was killed.”

Key Testimony

The prosecution’s case rests on the testimony of two young private investigators who were hired by the victim’s wife, Tuyet Nguyen, to follow her husband and photograph him with Xuan Kim Lai.

Instead of witnessing a love affair on the night of Nov. 30, investigators Jesse Welch and Robin R. Mensch are expected to testify that they saw something much more suspicious while they waited in the parking lot of the Pueblo Motel in Santa Ana, according to the prosecution.

Both private investigators are expected to testify that they saw three men seated in a parked car at the motel. What’s more, according to the prosecution, Xuan Kim Lai came with her brother, Trung Nguyen, who checked into a separate room at the motel.

The victim did meet with Lai that night, everyone agrees.

And later, according to the prosecution, the investigators saw Lai’s brothers, Trung and Peter Ha Nguyen, who allegedly wore a mask and had a gun, listening outside Lai’s motel room. The two allegedly entered using a key, while Lai’s husband remained in the car seen earlier in the parking lot.

Fight Broke Out

A fight erupted and the victim was strangled, according to the prosecution. The private investigators, meanwhile, fearing that something violent was about to happen, left the scene.

But two motel workers later saw Xuan Kim Lai, accompanied by two Vietnamese men, carrying a man who appeared unconscious.

Quynh Nguyen’s body eventually was found dumped in a canal in Long Beach. His wallet, money and shoes were gone.

Xuan Kim Lai’s attorney, Gregory W. Jones, said his client was in love with Nguyen and had no knowledge that her relatives were going to harm him.

Jones conceded that Lai was in the motel room at the time, “but she was totally surprised when her brothers entered and started beating the victim.”

And Lai’s husband, Hoan Ngoc Lai, was mistakenly identified by the private investigators, according to his attorney, James Odriozola.

Denies Charge

Trung Nguyen’s attorney, John Dolan, denies that his client murdered anyone and took exception with the prosecution’s murder case.

“At best, what happened is manslaughter,” Dolan said, explaining that defense attorneys contend a fight erupted and that the victim died as a result.

Peter Ha Nguyen has been similarly charged, but his attorney is arguing a capital case in another court, and Nguyen’s trial on the charges is pending.

The trial of the Lais and Trung Nguyen has been recessed until March 29.

According to a source familiar with the case, the private investigators, whose testimony is crucial to the case, telephoned Santa Ana police by dialing 911 to report their fears and observations after leaving the motel on the night of the murder.

At first police did nothing, the source said. After consulting a police officer and family friend from the Garden Grove Police Department, the private investigators made a second 911 call. Police telephoned the motel manager, but dropped their interest after the manager said he was unaware of anything unusual at the motel.

In the meantime, the room had been stripped clean. Gone were the bed sheets, drinking glasses and anything to show signs of a struggle.

A police investigation finally was begun the next day after the victim’s family filed a missing person’s report. In the meantime, the victim’s body was found in a canal in the Naples area of Long Beach.