Angelina Tran University of Washington student stabbed to death more than 100 times by her stepfather, Nghiep Kein Chau, as she tried to protect her mother after man began assaulting mom at Seattle home.
An engineering student at the University of Washington has died after she was stabbed more than 100 times as she tried to defending her mother from her enraged stepfather.
Angelina Tran, 21, awoke early on August 7 after hearing sounds of a struggle in her family’s home in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Seattle.
Her stepfather Nghiep Kein Chau, 54, had punched her mother at least 12 times in the kitchen, according to charging documents.
‘I killed somebody.’
Tran attempted to protect her mother, prosecutors say, at which point Chau began attacking both women.
The mother was able to escape while Tran held Chau back, in a desperate attempt to prevent him from following her.
The two struggled and fell to the floor, when Chau allegedly grabbed a knife and fatally stabbed Tran a total 107 times, KING-TV reported.
He stopped the stabbing spree several times during the rampage, charging documents stated, including once to change his clothes and another to grab a different knife.
Home security footage also showed Chau searching for Tran’s mother after she called the police, the Seattle Times reported.
Officers finally arrived shortly before 5 a.m., and found the unidentified woman bleeding from injuries to her face.
They also found Chau, still holding the knife with blood on his clothes, before the man allegedly saying: ‘I killed somebody.’
Step-dad attacked mom after believing she was going to divorce him
Chau was taken into custody, and later told police he had been ‘bickering’ with his wife, with whom he had been married 19 years.
Through an interpreter, Chau allegedly told how he hit Tran’s mother because he thought she was going to divorce him and take his money.
He also said he became angry when Tran intervened and claimed he would have killed his wife if he had found her before the cops arrived.
Officers then obtained search warrants and seized evidence from the home, including home security footage prosecutors say, which showed the initial assault and much of the stabbing.
Fundraiser in memory of slain daughter
Chau is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder. He is being held at the King County Correctional Facility on $5 million bond after prosecutors argued he was a flight risk and a danger to the community.
An arraignment scheduled for Wednesday has been pushed back to Aug. 31.
Tran’s friends and family set up a fundraiser for the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging in the engineering major’s memory.
Tran was described as ‘an incredible daughter, a cherished friend….The pain of her absence is profound as she was a gem of a human being. The impact she had on all those fortunate enough to know her was significant.’
All donations will go to the nonprofit ‘reflecting Angelina’s spirit and her commitment to making a difference in the lives of elderly individuals.’
