Man, 19, Denies Girlfriend’s Murder
A young man accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend pleaded not guilty Monday in Orange County Superior Court.
Prosecutors allege that Kiem Van Do, 19, murdered Hang Thi Thay Dinh, 18, last October in a rage when their relationship fell apart.
Do, who remains jailed in lieu of $250,000 bail, is scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a trial-setting hearing.
According to police, Dinh was stabbed to death just four days after arriving in the country. Police said Do, Dinh and her parents and several brothers and sisters fled Vietnam for a Philippines refugee camp and then came to the United States.
Because Do is an Amerasian, he was eligible to enter the country under a 1987 law aimed at helping Amerasians. The Dinhs, who are Vietnamese and do not qualify under the special law, apparently immigrated as part of Do’s family.
Do, police said, had expected to marry Dinh. But once they were in the United States, Dinh’s father forced them to break up.
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