Milpitas Family Death Investigation – NBC Bay Area

Milpitas police said Thursday that the case of four family members found dead in an apartment earlier this week is being investigated as a murder-suicide.

The bodies of 36-year-old Vinh Nguyen, 36-year-old Betty Pham, their 9-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter were found Tuesday night when officers were called to the Turing Apartments to conduct a welfare check, police said. Each family member had sustained a single gunshot wound. Nguyen, the father, is suspected of pulling the trigger.

“This tragedy is a very difficult reminder of the importance of addressing domestic violence and gun violence,” said Milpitas Police Lt. Tyler Jamison. “The loss of their lives was preventable.”

Authorities believe the shooting happened sometime last weekend, most likely Saturday night, Jamison said. A motive was not immediately known.

“Our detectives are still reviewing digital evidence and all that evidence to determine if there are any notes, additional evidence left from the suspect or additional information,” Jamison said.

Milpitas police on Thursday provided updates on the investigation into the deaths of four family members found inside an apartment earlier this week.

Officers were initially dispatched just before 1 p.m. 21 Tuesday to the apartment complex, located at 1355 McCandless Dr., to conduct a welfare check after relatives of the family reported they had not spoken to their loved ones for several days, police said.

“When the family asked for the initial welfare check, they said it was just out of the ordinary that they hadn’t talked to their family members in the last few days,” Jamison said. “Usually they would talk to them every two to three days and not hear from them. That’s what worried them.”

According to Jamison, no previous police calls had been made to the family’s apartment.

“This was our first contact as a police department with them,” he said.

A gun legally registered to Nguyen was recovered at the scene, Jamison said.

Neighbors said they had seen the family members around the apartment complex often and never noticed anything unusual.

“Very relaxed couple,” said one resident. “I had many conversations with them.”

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the suicide and crisis lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for further support.