Four family members whose bodies were found inside their Bay Area apartment home this week died in an apparent murder-suicide, according to authorities.
Milpitas Police Department Lt. Tyler Jamison said during a televised news conference that all four individuals were found with a single gunshot wound. He said investigators suspect the husband, identified as 36-year-old Vinh Nguyen, killed his wife and two kids with a handgun that was registered to him and recovered at the scene.
Police identified the mother as 36-year-old Betty Pham, but did not disclose the names of the couple’s 9-year-old boy or 4-year-old girl.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy,” Jamison said. “The loss of their lives was preventable, and we urge those in need to seek support, to prevent incidents like this from happening again.”
The four bodies were discovered Tuesday night, when police officers showed up at the family’s apartment home to conduct a welfare check. Relatives told authorities they had not heard from the family for three days, and that Pham and Nguyen had not shown up to work at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, according to Jamison.
When officers entered the apartment, they found Pham and the two children in their beds with single gunshot wounds to their heads, according to records from the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner. Nguyen, who suffered two head wounds, was found with a handgun on his right thigh, records show, and several bullet casings were also found in the apartment.
Jamison said a motive for the shooting remains under investigation and did not disclose any more details about the case. But coroner’s records show that relatives were becoming increasingly concerned about Nguyen, as he and Pham were going through a divorce. They told investigators that Nguyen was suffering from depression, insomnia and had just purchased a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun, coroner’s records show.
Jamison said there had been no prior police calls to the home.
“This was our first contact as a police department with them,” he said.
