He could not say yet whether the killings were the work of organized crime, but allowed that "it's certainly a theory".[4]. However, Ed eventually took a plea deal, and admitted to three counts of first degree murder. Also, how do you WILLINGLY help someone cut up bodies and dump them. However, Vickie was the one to end the relationship. Asked how they could be located after so much time had passed, Horan said Thats an art form all by itself.. On the other hand, people living near the Chen residence mentioned that after 1995, Edward often came over to maintain the houses exterior to give it a lived-in vibe. 60 is still pretty young, and who knows, he could hurt someone else again. It remains disturbing to us to have this case open, McNally says. He recalled the boys playing in the backyard while their mother gardened and kept watch. As it was unusual for Chen to miss work, his coworkers were concerned for his welfare. [2] On the second floor, they discovered William Blaine Hodges (aged 41) dead on a bed next to a .22 caliber gun with the barrel removed, shot through his left temple, but not burned. The Chens were reasonably well-off and managed to send their children to prestigious schools in Fairfax, along with owning five properties in the US. Months after his arrest in January, the man accused of shooting and killing an elderly Pokmon Go player has been indicted by a grand jury on a first-degree murder charge on . You have to actually be sitting across from the person who did that to ask that question. I dont believe hes sorry about what he did. Edward Chen Mandy got pregnant and Edward married her. It seems that Mandy was Eds motive for killing his family, and kept up appearances like paying the bills and doing yard work. Bramblett was executed by electric chair on April 9, 2003. But "We are satisfied from the forensic evidence that it happened," Horan said. The flooring had been replaced in the master bedroom, but they asked if the flooring underneath had been replaced, it hadnt. Ed Chen murdered his mother, father, and brother in their home and went undiscovered until . She said both of the brothers "were sweet." Authorities eventually determined the murders occurred in the early morning hours of October 8, 2014. Interestingly, neither of them was reported missing up until then, and their neighbors theorized that the family might have gone away to Taiwan for good. However, Mandy never turned Ed in, they got married, had a child together and were married for about two years. [2] No suspects have been identified and as of January 2020[update], the investigation is continuing. Chen was arraigned in Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on Monday. According to A&E, District Attorney P. David Soares said he thinks the murders were "a very intentional act" and that the Chens were "very intended targets." Language and cultural barriers also slowed down the investigation. Edward Y. Chen admitted in a Fairfax County courtroom yesterday that he shot his parents and older brother to death inside their Great Falls home in 1995, then left their bodies inside the house for nearly four years. His dad tried to run away, which is he ended up on the floor, but he killed them. She declined to set bond. [2], Having found Blaine Hodges' body next to a gun, police at first theorized that Blaine had killed his family and then himself; Blaine, a former U.S. When authorities arrived on the scene, they found 39-year-old Jin Feng Chen dead on the first floor of his home. Soon they had a new baby daughter. Hong Chen, 52, Shirley Zhou, 48, and James Wenjie Chen, 16, were found dead in their. Chen then locked up the house and avoided suspicion by making sure that the lawn and exterior were maintained. [1] Further investigation determined that the barrel of the murder weapon had been removed after Blaine had been killed, and that Blaine had been killed before the rest of his family. Michael said he and Ed met, and Ed had told him weird stories and asked him strange questions about dead people, and what he would do to get rid of dead bodies. The child, who was living with her father, is being cared for by friends, Horan said. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. One day, Vickie found passports that belonged to his parents, and the last stamp on the passports was from the U.S. Vickie told the police there was another person who could back up her story, Eds ex-wife, Mandy. "It is very unclear whether he was working," said Horan. A picture of Eds mom, Yei-Mei and their mansion. Mandy was pregnant at 17, and this didnt make Eds traditional family happy at all. In a strange and surprising development, one Vickie Henry called the Fairfax County police department and claimed that she had information about the murders of Wu-Hung, Weh-Mei, and Raymond Chen. Updated: 1:56 PM EDT June 30, 2022. Kowalski said Jin Feng and Hai Yan Li did not speak fluent English. His parents disapproved, Horan said, and in summer 1995, they took Edward Chen back to Taiwan and placed him in a mental institution. The police needed more evidence before they could rip up the flooring. Edward Chen returned with his family to Great Falls and killed them so that he could continue dating Kolbe, Horan said. Investigators have considered links to Chinese American organized crime; there is evidence the Chens may have been involved in illegal gambling and/or the human trafficking of undocumented immigrants from China. This page is not available in other languages. [3], Technological factors also made collecting evidence difficult. Her sisters, Caroline and Mary, were widows who helped the unmarried Virginian run the boarding school for girls. The bodies were found Friday in a house on the 1300 block of Windy Hill Road.. He revealed the crime to Kolbe, but she said she didn't report it because she both loved and feared Chen. All of the Chen properties were held in a family trust, with Raymond Chen appointed as trustee. Two similar houses in the same neighborhood sold last fall for $825,000 and $1,000,000, according to county records. At the family's Chinatown news conference after the killings, Chen's brother denied an early report in Sing Tao that the family was murdered by someone who had returned after a late gambling party at the house to steal their considerable take from the event. In 1998, according to court records, Chen assumed his brother's identity and began selling the family's homes. She believed him. A deputy's body cam video . Fairfax Station/Clifton/Lorton Connection, Presidential Appointment for Mount Vernons Horticulture Director, Good Shepherd Partners with Amazon in Housing Quest, Expo Emphasizes Environmental Stewardship in Mount Vernon. His final words were, "I didn't murder the Hodges family. In the spring of 2002, the Fairfax County police department received a phone call from Vickie Henry, who claimed that Wu-Hung, Weh-Mei, and Raymond had been murdered in August 1995. A McLean man killed his wife and son Friday before shooting himself, police in Fairfax County said Saturday. Although he admitted Chen hosted card games, he said they were intimate events that were only attended by family and close friends (viaA&E). Franklin was put to death in 2013 for a different murder. For example, Guilderland police had to find an interpreter who spoke the appropriate Chinese dialect to communicate with some of the people who knew the Chen family, local media reported. Fairfax County Police are searching for their bodies, Horan said. As reported by A&E, one of Chen's coworkers went to his home to find out why he did not show up for work. The disturbing case of the Chen family from Fairfax County in Virginia .If you enjoy my narration, please subscribe to my channel and click the bell icon for more true crime stories every. "[4], Bramblett was a suspect in the 1977 disappearances of Tammy Akers and Angela Rader, who were both 14 years old and worked for him at the time. When authorities arrived on the scene, they found 39-year-old Jin Feng Chen dead on the . "There were so many cultural impediments, language barriers[b] and an overwhelming sense of fear", among the members of the local Chinese immigrant community detectives attempted to talk to, Albany County district attorney David Soares recalled later. Ed Chen murdered his moth Related Features: The triple murder case at a home in Great Falls involved the Chen family. Detectives also looked into local crime syndicates and reports of human trafficking. The woman who alerted authorities three years ago to a triple murder in Great Falls, committed by her ex-boyfriend Edward Y. Chen, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Alexandria to. Edward Y. Chen pleaded guilty this morning to three counts of first-degree murder, admitting that he shot his parents and older brother to death in their Great Falls home in 1995, then left. The circumstances of the Chen family's death had prosecutors and investigators shaking their heads in amazement during a Good Friday press conference where the deaths, and arrests, were announced. Ed offered Michael $100,000 and a new car. My brother and my parents." Although the police had no idea that the family was missing, she claimed that the triple murder occurred in August 1995. [3], From the beginning there were allegations that the Chens had been involved in illegal business activities in addition to, or even instead of, the restaurant, such as human trafficking, money laundering, or illegal gambling. People still talk about it., As for whether he believes the Chens will ever get justice, Gosh, he says, after pausing a beat. He also said the only person who can answer all of the detectives' questions is the killer. The house is situated among homes that in today's rising market are valued between $800,000 and $1,000,000. They specifically believe the Chen family was killed between 3:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. As reported by A&E, authorities noted the bodies of Hai Yan Li, Anthony, and Eddy were covered in blankets. [10] Later it was reported that police had found 18 mattresses on the floor in the basement of the Chen house, further suggesting that the family had been involved in trafficking undocumented workers. [2] Bramblett's sister provided police with a box he had left with her, which contained several audiotapes on which he spoke of his sexual attraction to 11-year-old Winter Hodges, and of his belief that the family, including Winter, was conspiring to set him up for child molestation charges. The judge agreed and the confession was thrown out. Investigators also looked into any possible links to multiple homicide cases involving members of Chinese families in Mississippi and Texas, but found no direct connections, The Altamont Enterprise reported. The Chen's were a very traditional family, but they came to the U.S. so that the boys could go to school. Guilderland Police Chief Dan McNally told A&E True Crime his department appreciates any media exposure regarding the case, in hopes that it might prompt someone to come forward with information. He and his wife spent most of their time in Taiwan, giving rise to the assumption that is where they were, Horan said. The coworker was greeted by the gruesome scene of four brutal murders that remain unsolved to this day. Their daughter is now 6. On October 8, 2014, 39-year-old Jin Feng Chen failed to report for work at a Chinese restaurant near his Guilderland, New Yorkhome. He was 20 when his family disappeared, according to police. They dismembered the bodies, poured concrete on them, put them in duffel bags and took them out to the Chesapeake Bay and dumped them. [7] At the beginning of 2014, another Chinese family of four were found shot in the heads in their home outside Houston, Texas. In the early afternoon of October 8, 2014, a coworker of Jin Chen, 39, of Guilderland, New York, United States found the bodies of Chen, his wife and their two children in their home. We're taking a break from Beyond Belief for a few weeks (but staying in the 90s) to cover a true crime case that is local to MM's neck of the woods and we have a coincidental connection to: the Chen Family murders in Great Falls, Virginia in August 1995. Edward Y. Chen admitted in a Fairfax County courtroom yesterday that he shot his parents and older brother to death inside their Great Falls home in 1995, then left their bodies inside the house. All Rights Reserved. Chen, the newspaper said, had allegedly been involved in large transfers of unrecorded cash used to pay undocumented Chinese workers at restaurants in the New York City area, the Capital District and beyond,[9] transporting them from Chinatown to their jobs and back and providing accommodation in cities too far away for day bus trips. A security guard in Virginia was convicted of second-degree murder on Friday in the 2017 shooting death of a Chinese immigrant who had left his house at night to play Pokemon Go.. [4] They have also considered whether the killings are connected to two other unsolved slayings of Chinese immigrant families elsewhere in the U.S. during the early 2010s. Ed was with his five year old daughter, Samantha, at the time and he said he wanted to say goodbye to her. Postal Service employee, was about to serve six months in federal prison for embezzlement. That night, he admitted to investigators that he had purchased a .30-30 Winchester rifle, went into his family members' bedrooms in the middle of the night and shot them. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. In the meantime, the younger Chen, like his brother a graduate of Herndon High School, sold the family's home in Seneca Knoll for $310,000. The couple allowed them to search the house. Bramblett reportedly told friends that he wished he had not "hurt Tammy" three years after she went missing, though he was never charged in either Akers's or Rader's disappearances and their whereabouts are still unknown. Bicoastal besties MM and Katy talk wine and (unsolved) mysteries each week. Not just that, he later sold the house in 1999, when a pipe burst caused flooding. Kowalski said she does not have any faith that the gruesome crime will ever be solved. He was sixty-one years old at the time of his death, choosing the electric chair over lethal injection as a form of protest. When our officers drive by the [Chen] home, I dont think there is any officer that doesnt think about what happened there that day.. I watched an episode of Deadline Crime for my research on this case. July 6, 2017. The elder Chen was thought to be in "the import-export business" or a consultant, said Horan. Later, he took her to the Chen residence and showed her the bodies of his family members. Chen will be eligible for geriatric release when he is 60, after serving about 33 years. Soares said law enforcement officials are dealing with "one of the most complicated sets of circumstances [they] ever experienced in an investigation.". The boysdescribed as kind, gentle and joyfulloved gardening, and Garden Club was the last activity they participated in at school, The Altamont Enterprise reported. Open Case Virginia: Fire Fuels Fresh Suspicion About Short Family Murders (WDBJ7 News) Short Family's Former Henry County Home Destroyed by Fire; Cause Unknown (WSLS News) If you know anything about the murder of the Short family, please call the FBI's major case contact center at 1-800-225-5324, or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov Can we all agree a one year statute of limitations on disposing a body is RIDICULOUS? On the other hand, Vickie also managed to make Edward partially confess to the murders over the phone, and the police wasted no time in arresting him in March 2022. Soon police gathered additional incriminating evidence against Bramblett. [5], Bramblett's case was featured on the popular CourtTV crime show Forensic Files - Season 8, Episode 16: "Private Thoughts"[6] and Discovery Channel's The New Detectives - Season 4, Episode 4: "Dead Wrong".[7]. Ed was arrested for killing his family on August 17, 1995. If you missed the program, you can watch it online. [4], Investigators were also looking at possible connections with two other unsolved killings of Chinese immigrant families that had occurred elsewhere in the U.S. during the 2010s. Never miss a story by signing up for the newsletter now. Fairfax County, Va, officials arrest 27-year-old Edward Chen for 1995 murders of parents and brother (S) Tips can also be submitted by calling 1-866-411-TIPS(8477), or call Fairfax County Police at (703) 691-2131. "There was no suggestion that Mr. and Mrs. Chen had died in the United States. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. [3], Further inspection of the Hodges house revealed purposefully-disconnected telephone lines and the presence of a petroleum-based accelerant in several areas. The police also took Vickies story with a grain of salt at first, because they maybe thought she was a jealous ex. They didnt have bodies or evidence, besides the word of two of Eds exes. Chen family killings Cheshire home invasion murders Chisolm Massacre Clutter family murders Darnell Collins Kevin Cooper (prisoner) 2011 Copley Township shooting Corbly Family massacre Manuel Martnez Coronado Covina massacre Cowden family murders Lugano District shootings D Dardeen family homicides Dawson murder case 2011 murder of the Ding family Unfortunately, they have not been able to identify any viable suspects or persons of interest. However, their relationship ended after two years. [5], Funeral services were held in Chinatown a month after the killings, to allow relatives from China to obtain visas and flights in order to attend. Rosalyn Kowalski, who was a neighbor of the Chens, told 6 News, "I'll never forget that day, never." Ed finally took Mandy to his parents house, and showed her the bodies. [3] A considerable amount of forensic evidence, including DNA, has been collected but has not generated any leads; cultural, legal, and linguistic barriers have also made progress difficult despite outreach to other law enforcement agencies in other large U.S. cities, Canada, and China. The police decided to go the Chen house, but at this point it was owned by another couple. During their time there, a number of mysterious events occurred, including the "disappearance" of an illegitimate baby birthed by one of the students and the death of Mary's son, John, found burned to death in his bed. Although the police had no idea that the family was missing, she claimed that the triple murder occurred in August 1995. However, in the years before he was killed, the business was not very profitable, and some sources questioned how he maintained his lifestyle with the reduced income. Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Bob Horan last week outlined what is known about a seven-year-old triple homicide that allegedly occurred in a quiet neighborhood off north Seneca Road in Great Falls. [6][4], The crime stunned Guilderland, normally a quiet suburb. IN THE MEANTIME, another innocent family moved into the house and fell in love with it. It was implied that Chang and his family might have been killed by an attendee who knew he kept large amounts of cash in the house. Edward Chen, the Chens' younger son and Raymond's younger brother, is now charged with three counts of murder. said in a October 6, 2015 press conference, Anyone with any information about the case, Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible: The Mysterious Murders of Teenage Best Friends. Members of the Henry County Sheriff's Office announced a new task force will take a new look into the murders of the. Other rumors suggest Chen hosted a gambling party at his home in the evening before he and his family were killed. Ed had to tip toe around his relationship with Mandy, even buying two apartments so his parents wouldnt find out. Investigation Discoverys Forbidden: Dying For Love: Family Matters chronicles the strange incident and shows how the police built a case against the perpetrator even without the bodies. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. I think he should have gotten life in prison, because he can still get out around age 60 for good behavior, according to one of the articles. [Watch episodes of Cold Case Files in the A&E App.]. Ugh, its so disgusting. VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) The family of a man shot and killed in 2017 has filed a lawsuit against the security guard accused of his murder as well as his employer and a community association. "And one night I really just lost my nerve, lost my mind and I did it," Chen told Fairfax detectives. Sources involved in the investigation say Chen allegedly handled large amounts of off-the-books cash that came from an underground economy of undocumented Chinese restaurant workers running from New York City to upstate New York and beyond, the Times Union reported. Upstairs, they discovered the bodies of his 38-year-old wife Hai Yan Li, his 10-year-old son Anthony, and his 7-year-old son Eddy. According to reports, Chen owned a Chinese restaurant. A young man named Edward Chen was charged with shooting his father, mother and brother with a rifle, stuffing their corpses into duffel bags weighted down with concrete, and dumping them in Chesapeake Bay. "We really love this house," he said. Vickie started becoming suspicious when she would get phone calls about a Raymond Chen, Eds brother. As part of a plea agreement, Edward eventually pled guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and admitted that he had purchased a rifle and shot Wu-Hung, Weh-Mei, and Raymond Chen dead in August 1995. [3] A pair of jeans were found soaking at his place of employment, discovered by another employee after noticing water leaking through the door, and were determined to contain stains of the same flammable liquid used to start the fire at the Hodges's home. The boys father was in the United States legally, but their mother was not, according to unnamed sources quoted by Newsday. . ", In addition to local authorities, The Daily Gazette reports that the FBI, Homeland Security, and state police have assisted in the investigation into the Chen family murders. [3], A neighbor told the Albany Times-Union later that the family lived what to him appeared to be a fairly normal life. The scene soon attracted a considerable media presence, due to it being the first quadruple homicide to occur in the Capital District,[3][a] as the metropolitan area around Albany, Schenectady and Troy is known. The bodies of Wu Hong Chen, 53; Shieh Yeh-Mei Chen, 52, and Raymond Chen, 26, have never been found. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. [1], At around 4:30a.m. on August 29, 1994, a passerby reported a fire at the Hodges residence in Vinton, Virginia. More evidence was about to come, when a man named Michael Reese came forward and said he helped Ed dismember and dump the bodies, that had already been in the home for four years at this point. The investigation was also made difficult by the reluctance of possible witnesses to come forward, as many were undocumented immigrants. SINCE 1995, when his family disappeared, Chen has told people in the family's native country, Taiwan, that his family died in a car wreck in the United States. However, a search of the Chens former residence revealed a dried-up blood stain, which matched Wu-Hungs blood, and convinced the police of Edwards involvement. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Contents of this site are Copyright 2023 Ellington. They lived a quiet, uneventful life, and people had no idea about the tragedy that would befall the family. But after the March 19 phone call to police by Chen's ex-girlfriend, Vickie Henry, detectives quickly investigated and arrested Chen on March 29. When he told the same story in the United States, he changed the location of the car wreck to Taiwan, Horan said. HARRIS COUNTY, Texas A man accused in a 2014 quadruple murder in the Cypress area was arrested Sunday, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. He kept his family's remains there until 1999, when a pipe burst and the house flooded. Thus, Edward Chen remains behind bars at the Baskerville Correctional Center in Baskerville, Virginia, and will be released in August 2033. Read More: Catherine Kitty Pappas Murder: Is George Joseph Cvek Dead or Alive? Those barriers are additionally complicated by many of the potential witnesses not only speaking primarily Chinese but, as immigrants from Fujian, "Chinatown community eyed as cops work to solve quadruple slaying upstate", "2 Children Among 4 Found Dead in Home in Upstate New York", "Police, prosecutors stumped over who killed Guilderland family", "Two quadruple killings, two different tales", "Human trafficking, undocumented workers part of Guilderland homicide investigation", "Case of Chinese couple and their two young sons bludgeoned to death in US remains a mystery after a year", "A year after Chinese family murdered, no suspects here or elsewhere", "Mississippi Gulf Coast triple murder getting another look by FBI", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chen_family_killings&oldid=1145067795, This page was last edited on 17 March 2023, at 03:17. He said his parents had heard the noise, and he went into their bedroom. Once questioned, Mandy mentioned that her relationship with Edward was quite challenging since his family was against the union. However, there was little other evidence suggesting who killed the family or why. . [6] They attended the local elementary school. [1], Local law enforcement officials said later that the investigation progressed very slowly during its first 48 hours, a crucial period. The autopsies were able to put the victims' time of death at between 3:30 and 6:30a.m. that day. I couldnt find any pictures of the whole family. "We think there is sufficient evidence" for the charges, Horan said, "with or without the bodies.". Investigators believe the family members were shot in their bedrooms, with a rifle, in the house in Great Falls. Chen said he shot them because they were trying to break up his relationship with his girlfriend. People who knew the family stated how they routinely traveled to Taiwan to meet their relatives, despite the fact that they were thought to be kind-hearted and relatively kind. As part of his plea agreement, he was sentenced to 36 years in prison in December 2002. Shortly after, Edward Chen began dating Mandy Kolbe. [2] Firefighters and police found fire burning throughout the house. Edward lived off rental incomes for a while, but with expensive tastes and mounting bills decided to start selling the family properties. The brothers lived in a house in Herndon, and each graduated from Herndon High School. To listen please click below or find us wherever you listen to podcasts. The brutal, unsolved quadruple homicide has affected the community deeplyand is still on peoples minds, Pastor Charlie Muller told A&E True Crime.