Man angry over sham marriage killed girl

[Mr. Leggs 0]

David Rich Hang entered into a sham marriage several years ago with a Vietnamese woman facing immigration problems, police said, collecting payments in return for helping her earn U.S. citizenship. But authorities say that after she later refused to give him a speedy divorce, he brutally stabbed her 12-year-old daughter to death.

Hang was ordered held without bond during a hearing Wednesday in which he tearfully proclaimed his innocence in the killing of his 12-year-old stepdaughter, Jessica Nguyen. Her bloody body was found stabbed more than 40 times on May 31 in a basement bedroom of her family's Gaithersburg townhome.

His arrest has brought to light details of the unusual marriage. The wife's family had paid Hang to marry her, but he moved out very soon after the couple wed and had demanded a fast divorce so that he could have relationships with additional women — something the family had resisted, authorities say. He was married to at least one other woman when he was arrested.

Hang had lived in the home where the crime occurred for parts of 2005 and 2006 while married to Nguyen's mother, but had long been estranged from her, authorities said.

Detectives initially found the case mysterious because there were no signs of forced entry in the home.

"There were a lot of people who were in the home or who had access to the home," said Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger. "All of these people were the first people we looked at."

They soon zeroed in on Hang, 42, ultimately matching his DNA to the sheath of a knife or sword that was found without a matching weapon near the girl's body, court papers say.

He also called out sick the afternoon of the killing from his job at Montgomery County Ride-On, a local transit system, and was observed a day later with a swollen hand, court papers say.

Boot impressions found at the scene were the same size as his shoe, and cell phone records place him in the neighborhood during the time police believe the killing took place, authorities say.

Hang, who prosecutors say has used different names and moved from state to state, continued to have access to the townhouse despite being estranged from Nguyen's mother, Khen Kim Vu. The couple had wed in a "sham" arrangement intended to help Nguyen's mother earn citizenship, said prosecutor Stephen Chaikin.

Hang, who appeared via video hookup for a bond hearing, sobbed as he denied any wrongdoing. "I didn't do that," he said after Chaikin recited the allegations of the case.

He later said he had changed his name simply to make it easier for Americans to pronounce, and had moved around not for illicit purposes but because he was searching for a decent-paying job.

"I'm a good husband," he said, later adding, "I work hard and I always show up for work each day."

Nguyen's family was ushered out of the courtroom by Chaikin without commenting.

"What troubles me is that you have somebody as cold and heartless as that, who could kill an innocent child," Manger said at a news conference announcing the arrest.

http://washingtonexaminer.com

[joonphon 7]

Kid has nothing to do w/ it... why killed her? crazy..

[luckytxn 2,264]

My heart and prayers go out to the family.

[bigdog 376]

I am so sorry, all my prayers to the family. When people do crazy stuff it is hard to comprehend.

[Mozzer1972 7]

Horrible

[ScottThuy 140]

what will happen to those that participated in immigration fraud?

[tcTTct 37]

So the psychopath accepted money for a sham marriage then deluded himself into thinking it's for real. When she didn't reciprocate he kills her daughter.

I hope he f$&@ing rots in jail.

[confusedasheck 21]

I wonder if there is more to this story. I don't understand why the wife would not give him a speedy divorce. It sounds like the woman's daughter was involved in the divorce not being finalized in some way, like maybe some immigration problems or she was trying to get child support from him and he just snapped.

[VinceN 25]

So the psychopath accepted money for a sham marriage then deluded himself into thinking it's for real. When she didn't reciprocate he kills her daughter.

I hope he f$&@ing rots in jail.

I think you misread or misuderstood the article, it wasn't' b/c he deluded himself into thinking it's real, it's b/c he can't get out of the marriage soon enough.

This is 2nd line into the article.

But authorities say that after she later refused to give him a speedy divorce,he brutally stabbed her 12-year-old daughter to death.

Either way, off with his balls!!!!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I wonder if there is more to this story. I don't understand why the wife would not give him a speedy divorce. It sounds like the woman's daughter was involved in the divorce not being finalized in some way, like maybe some immigration problems or she was trying to get child support from him and he just snapped.

Agreed.

The evidence they have is interesting, but it's not damning. They don't have a murder weapon, but they've got a sheath for a knife or sword with his DNA on it, and footprints that match his shoe size. Well, the guy lived there part of the time so it wouldn't be surprising to find his DNA all over the place. From the statements in the article, a lot of people came and went in that house. How many of them also had the same shoe size? They don't mention if they found the actual boots that made the footprints.

He called in sick that day so it sounds like he doesn't have an alibi. Cell phone records place him in the neighborhood around the time of the killing. Who, in this day and age, doesn't realize that they can track your location using your cell phone? You'd almost have to be a complete idiot to leave your cell phone on if you planned to commit a murder. Is this guy an idiot, or is this just circumstantial?

The motive also seems pretty fuzzy. His wife wouldn't give him a speedy divorce, and this pissed him off because he wanted to fool around? There are millions of men who fool around and being married doesn't slow them down a bit. He can also pursue divorce without his wife's cooperation. And where does the daughter fit into this? The threat of harming the daughter would only be effective while it remained a threat. Once he actually carried out his threat then his wife would have no further motive to comply with him. And why stab her 40 times? It sounds to me like whoever committed this murder was pissed off at the daughter and not the mother.