deadmonton 2004 - an quoc tran
An Quoc Tran, 41, was stabbed to death February 10th, 2004.
Thieu Kham Tran, 41, was charged with second-degree murder and break and enter to commit attempted murder.
A messy lover's triangle left one man dead, a woman suffering from slashes to the face and hands and numerous charges against her former husband.
Thieu Kham Tran (left) separated from his wife, Hoa Le Duong, 35, on November 24th, 2003. She thought he had given up his keys to their apartment at 9330 101 A Avenue.
On February 10th, 2004 Duong and her new boyfriend, An Quoc Tran (no relation) returned to the apartment and fell into bed. Kham Tran soon walked in brandishing two large butcher knives.
It was alleged that Kham Tran fatally stabbed Quoc Tran and also cut Duong on the cheek and hands. Police charged Kham Tran with second-degree murder.
At his trial that began on January 17th, 2006 Kham Tran entered a guilty plea to lesser charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault.
The Crown refused the offer and announced they were continuing with the original charges of second-degree murder and break and enter to commit attempted murder. The Crown stated they would focus their case on the "intent of the accused at the time of the incident."
A police blood spatter expert testified the victim was lying down at the time of the attack and had also been kicked and later moved. The murder weapon was then placed in his hands. A second knife was found near the body.
Another police officer testified that Kham Tran said after his arrest that he thought his right foot might be broken. Kham Tran had waited for police to arrive and had no shoes or socks on when arrested. An autopsy showed that Quoc Tran had been stabbed 37 times.
Court heard testimony from Kham Tran's wife, Hoa Le Duong, who described the prolonged and vicious attack.
After choppping at Duong's hands and face, Kham Tran made a phone call to her godfather and to 911 -- a call that recorded much of the deadly assault.
In addition to the murder charge, Kham Tran was also charged with break-and-enter, aggravated assault and two counts of uttering death threats against his two sons from his marriage with Duong.
Closing arguments in Kham Tran's trial heard his defence lawyer calling the killing a "classic case" of provocation. The attempt to reduce his potential conviction from second-degree murder to manslaughter cited that Tran's passions were "fully inflamed" from the shock of seeing the naked couple.
The Crown countered suggesting there was no provocation and that Tran had gone to his estranged wife's home with the intent of catching them in the act, even taking time during the brutal attack to call her godfather to tell him what he had found.
"This is a man who wanted to find them," the Crown argued.
Court of Queen's Bench Justice Lawrie Smith reflected "There is no question there is a second-degree murder here," she said. "The question is do we forgive it due to provocation."
On February 13th, 2006 Kham Tran was found guilty of manslaughter, aggravated assault and uttering threats. He was found not-guilty of the more serious charge of second-degree murder.
Justice Smith said "He had the opportunity to kill his wife. Instead, he sliced her face." Smith noted that divorce and adultery are considered so shameful within Vietnamese culture that the couple were suicidal over the issue.
"He faced a sight in that bedroom he had never seen before," Smith stated in her ruling. "He was put into an instant, sustained rage."
On April 12th, 2006 Tran's sentencing hearing was held.
Crown prosecutor Diane Hollinshead argued Kham Tran should deserved a life sentence for the slaying.
"The killing of An Tran can only be described as torturous and cruel," said Hollinshead. She added that Duong was brutally forced to watch without knowing if she was next.
Regarding Kham Tran's disfiguring his ex-wife's face, Hollinshead said it was the "ultimate way" to get back at her. "To destroy her face so she can't have other men."
Defence lawyer Peter Royal conceded that it was a case of "near-murder" that doesn't warrant a life sentence.
Royal suggested an appropriate sentence would be about 12 years less four years, four months for the twenty-six months Tran spent in pre-trial custody.
Reading from notes written on several pieces of crumpled paper, Kham Tran said he was "ashamed and dishonoured" for his "terrible, terrible spontaneous crime."
"I have no excuse for the crime," said Kham Tran. "One moment of complete rage has caused so much pain. I have directly destroyed two families, both the deceased's and my own."
"I will be in my own prison for the rest of my life, regardless of where I'm sent -- or for how long."
"One moment of complete rage and madness has caused so much pain. What excuse could I possibly have?"
Tran's former wife Hoa Le Duong, sat in court with a bandage covering a permanent scar on her face.
She refused to comment but in a victim impact statement she wrote about the horror of watching the man she loved die right in front of her.
"It is so hard to live with this horrible memory," Duong said.
The Crown announced they are appealing the murder acquittal.
On April 18th, 2006 Court of Queen's Bench Justice Lawrie Smith sentenced Kham Tran to eight years and eight months in prison.
Smith gave Kham Tran four years and four months credit for the two year and two months he spent at the Edmonton Remand Centre. She also gave Kham Tran two years credit for offering a guilty plea to reduced charges.
Justice Smith said the stabbing was “excessive, gratuitous and cruel.” She ruled a life sentence was not justified in the case because the attack was spontaneous and unplanned, and that there was no evidence Kham Tran presents an ongoing danger.
Smith also said she was impressed by Kham Tran's apology.
"I was moved by what you had to say," Smith told Kham Tran.
Kham Tran uttered a soft "thank you" to Smith before court officers took him back into custody.
He also received a lifetime weapons ban.