Man Convicted of Killing Wife, Mother-in-Law

A jury on Wednesday convicted a Santa Ana man who fatally stabbed his estranged wife and mother-in-law before setting a lawn mower ablaze inside their house last year.

Tuan Ngoc Le, 34, confessed to killing the two women during a knife-wielding rampage at the house the victims shared with relatives in unincorporated Anaheim on July 6, 1994.

But Le’s defense attorney, seeking conviction on a charge less than premeditated murder, contended that Le did not plan to kill but “lost it” when his wife ignored him.

The panel of seven women and five men deliberated about five hours before finding Le guilty of murder in both cases--a finding that means he will probably face life in prison without the possibility of parole. Le was convicted of first-degree murder in his wife’s slaying and second-degree murder of his mother-in-law. He also was found guilty of arson. Le is to be sentenced Dec. 8 by Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard L. Weatherspoon.

Authorities said a jealous Le visited the house armed with a newly purchased knife after he saw his 30-year-old estranged wife, Loi Thanh Phan, get a ride to work with another man the previous day. As child relatives looked on in terror, Le attacked his wife and fatally stabbed Sao Thi Nguyen, 69, when she grabbed him to help her daughter, according to court testimony.

Le then dragged a lawn mower into the carpeted living room and set it afire, the prosecutor said, in order to get back at the family he believed had destroyed his life.

Neighbors who heard screams ran into the smoking house, where they came upon a grisly murder scene and the sight of Le calmly washing a knife at the kitchen sink. Le surrendered to police and investigators recovered a kitchen knife with a 6- to 7-inch blade near the sink. Loi Phan’s oldest sister suffered smoke inhalation and burns on her feet.

“I thought it was a very sad case from start to finish,” said jury forewoman Margaret Manson, a college administrator from Orange.

Jurors said Le hurt his case by taking the witness stand and veering from the account he first told investigators. Le testified that he took the knife to protect himself from his wife’s brothers, one of whom once beat him up. But he previously told investigators he grabbed a knife from the kitchen in the heat of the moment, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Clyde Von Der Ahe.

“He told a lot of lies,” said juror Dave O’Brien of Fountain Valley.

Le and his wife had recently immigrated from Vietnam with their 4-year-old daughter. They were experiencing marital problems but had spent a July 4 weekend together just before the slaying and relatives said the couple were discussing reconciliation.

At the time of her death, Loi Phan worked at an Anaheim electronics firm and was living on Hearth Lane with her elderly parents, two brothers and their wives and her oldest sister, Lien Phan, 46. Le was staying in Santa Ana and looking for work.

Relatives have said that Le beat his wife while the couple lived in Vietnam and was planning to kill her.

The defense lawyer said Le found work at a restaurant and went to his wife’s home to share the news and talk over the couple’s future. Le became enraged and attacked when she refused to talk or listen to him, said Deputy Public Defender Roger Alexander.

“He is very remorseful and he has acknowledged [his guilt] from the very beginning,” Alexander said after the verdict. “He’s willing to accept any punishment.”

Juror Steve Armstrong said: “It’s like he hit rock bottom and his whole life was based in his wife. That kind of ended it for him.”