EDWARD CHEN, who attended the University of Virginia for a time, apparently lived in the Great Falls house for a time before he moved to Herndon, fathered a child, and divorced her mother, Horan said. Franklin was put to death in 2013 for a different murder. "We think there is sufficient evidence" for the charges, Horan said, "with or without the bodies.". In 1998, according to court records, Chen assumed his brother's identity and began selling the family's homes. The family was laid to rest at All Faiths Cemetery in Middle Village, in the New York City borough of Queens. Fairfax County tax records indicate that while the family home changed hands in 2000 for $310,000, it is valued at $702,780 for tax purposes today. 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. He was 20 when his family disappeared, according to police. A picture of Eds mom, Yei-Mei and their mansion. I watched an episode of Deadline Crime for my research on this case. GUILDERLAND . It's been 20 years since the Short family was killed. Eventually, the police discovered blood splatters belonging to Wu-Hung at the Chen family home, but the bodies were never recovered. 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. [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. Ed admitted to everything. Despite an investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies that reached as far as Canada and China, the brutal killings of a family of four in upstate New York remain unsolved. HENRY COUNTY, Va. - It's a case that's gone unsolved for almost two decades. I couldnt find any pictures of the whole family. Michael said he would cut them up and throw them in the ocean. Edward Chen, the Chens' younger son and Raymond's younger brother, is now charged with three counts of murder. Chen was arraigned. [2], Earl Bramblett, from Spartanburg, South Carolina, was a close friend of the Hodges family. Naturally, the police could not take Vickie for her word, as there was nothing to suggest that a murder had even occurred in the first place. While the family was considered good-natured and quite generous, people who knew them mentioned how they would frequently travel to Taiwan to meet their relatives. Language and cultural barriers also slowed down the investigation. At the time of his arrest he was living in an apartment he rented at Worldgate in Herndon. The brothers lived in a house in Herndon, and each graduated from Herndon High School. In the course of their investigation, authorities received hundreds of tips and followed up on numerous leads. On Saturday, police identified those killed as Shirley Zhou, 48, James Wenjie Chen, 16, and Hong Chen, 52. Postal Service employee, was about to serve six months in federal prison for embezzlement. [5], Newsday reported a month after the crime that state police had been putting up bilingual fliers seeking information and tips in restaurants and stores along East Broadway, in the section of Chinatown that, due to its high concentration of Fujianese immigrants in recent years, has increasingly come to be known as Little Fuzhou. 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. However, Anthony and Eddy often came to her home to play with her puppies. Asked how they could be located after so much time had passed, Horan said Thats an art form all by itself.. [3], The Guilderland police responded, and soon began sealing off the crime scene, later assisted by the New York State Police, whose detectives were seen the following morning combing through the area behind and near the house. "He can't get out until he's 60," Horan said. [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. 5 charged in Virginia triple murder of family; two victims from Utah | KUTV Five men are each charged with three counts of first-degree murder related to thebrutal May 2019 Virginia. In addition, two women testified that, in the 1970s, Bramblett had given them alcohol and molested them when they were eleven and fourteen years old.[1]. [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. Lets dive into the details surrounding the incident, shall we? "I've never seen anything like it", said Carol Lawlor, the town's police chief. Although Mandy and Edward kept meeting up in secret, he seemed to be in good spirits in August of 1995 and claimed that no one would stop them from living together ever again. [Watch episodes of Cold Case Files in the A&E App.]. Investigators looked into links to gangs and human trafficking, according to media reports. July 17, 2022 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. HENRY COUNTY, Va. A decades-old murder case now has new leads. They settled in the Albany suburb of Guilderland, near a take-out Chinese restaurant owned and operated by relatives, where Jin also worked. Thus, Edward Chen remains behind bars at the Baskerville Correctional Center in Baskerville, Virginia, and will be released in August 2033. 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. In . He recalled having brief conversations with Jin, whose English was adequate enough. Although the childs mother is in the area, care for the child will have to be sorted out by some court, Horan said. Vickie started becoming suspicious when she would get phone calls about a Raymond Chen, Eds brother. "That's satisfactory.". . Earl Conrad Bramblett (March 20, 1942 April 9, 2003) was an American mass murderer, convicted for the killing of four members of the Hodges family in August 1994 in Vinton, Virginia. Chen allegedly held a gambling party the night before he was murdered, and the killer wanted to steal cash from the home, according to a report by Sing Tao, a Chinese language newspaper cited by the Times Union. The police also took Vickies story with a grain of salt at first, because they maybe thought she was a jealous ex. Investigators believe the family members were shot in their bedrooms, with a rifle, in the house in Great Falls. Police believe the murders took place sometime between 3:30 and 6:30 a.m. Chen was found downstairs, while his wife and two children were found upstairs, covered with blankets, the Albany Times Union reported. I've never murdered anybody. In a 2019 interview with 6 News, Muller said the money is still available to anyone providing information leading to an arrest and conviction in the murders of the Chen family. It remains disturbing to us to have this case open, McNally says. [3], Technological factors also made collecting evidence difficult. Police said the Fostins have fully cooperated with an investigation that revealed enough forensic evidence to charge Edward Chen on three counts of murder. 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. He and his wife spent most of their time in Taiwan, giving rise to the assumption that is where they were, Horan said. Detectives also looked into local crime syndicates and reports of human trafficking. Never miss a story by signing up for the newsletter now. The Chens were a very traditional family, but they came to the U.S. so that the boys could go to school. The. 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 Once questioned, Mandy mentioned that her relationship with Edward was quite challenging since his family was against the union. 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. Drawings of stick figures with arrows that corresponded to the Hodges' bullet wounds were found at Bramblett's place of employment. Contents of this site are Copyright 2023 Ellington. In this episode we tell the story of Edward Chen and crimes he committed in the late 1990s in Great Falls, Virginia. Authorities explored similar murders of Chinese individuals and families in the region but were unable to find enough evidence to link any of those crimes to the Chen family murders. Chen told relatives in Taiwan that his family had died in a car accident in the United States. Photo: Skip Dickstein/The Albany Times Union via AP 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. 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. "We've done a lot of work here.". Although the police had no idea that the family was missing, she claimed that the triple murder occurred in August 1995. His parents disapproved, Horan said, and in summer 1995, they took Edward Chen back to Taiwan and placed him in a mental institution. In a second bed they found daughters Winter (aged 11) and Anah (aged 3); both had been shot at close range, and Anah had sustained mild burns. 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. Although Virginia does not have parole, it does reduce sentences slightly for good behavior. [5], Around midday on October 8, 2014, a coworker of Chen's at the King's Wok restaurant where he worked became concerned when he had not reported for work or called to say he would be absent or late. Anthony and Eddy Chen attended Guilderland Elementary School, where they were both described as happy and thoughtful students. Although he admitted Chen hosted card games, he said they were intimate events that were only attended by family and close friends (viaA&E). Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. . 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 triple homicide goes undetected for years, until a tip changes everything. Chen had owned a restaurant, but the business was all but closed for about two years, leading to questions about how he made a living, sources also told the newspaper. At this rate, the police still didnt have the bodies, but they did decide to do one more thing. "This is a truly rare situation," said Horan. [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. Yep, thats right FOUR YEARS. Despite more than 600 leads in the case, investigators couldnt zero in on any suspects. The Chen family, Wu-Hung, 53, Yei-Mei, 52, Raymond, 25, and Edward, moved from Taiwan to Fairfax, Virginia. Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Jonathan C. Thacher ruled last month that Chen's confession was inadmissible because he had told detectives "I don't want to talk about it" before relating details of the crime. There are several prevailing theories as to what may have happened to the Chen family. Realizing that something was afoot, the police immediately got in touch with the Chens relatives from Taiwan, who insisted that Edward had informed them how a car accident claimed Wu-Hung, Weh-Mei, and Raymonds lives. Ed Chen murdered his moth Bramblett was executed by electric chair on April 9, 2003. Not just that, he later sold the house in 1999, when a pipe burst caused flooding. I hope so.. You have to actually be sitting across from the person who did that to ask that question.. But Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan still had three key witnesses: Chen's ex-wife, Mandy Chen, who had seen the bodies; Chen's friend Michael Reese, who helped him dispose of the bodies; and Henry, whom Chen had told about the killings and who made a tape-recorded phone call to Chen for the police shortly before Chen's arrest. ", What We Know About The Unsolved 2014 Murders Of The Chen Family. He went to the Chens' house a half-mile (1km) away, on Western Avenue (U.S. Route 20), a busy four-lane highway, and found the bodies. Interestingly, the court initially considered Edwards confession in police custody inadmissible, but Mandy, Michael, and Vickies testimonies helped strengthen the case. Tips can also be submitted by calling 1-866-411-TIPS(8477), or call Fairfax County Police at (703) 691-2131. Investigators were able to collect DNA samples that might belong to a suspect, but had not been able to determine who might have left it. They lived a quiet, uneventful life, and people had no idea about the tragedy that would befall the family. Also, how do you WILLINGLY help someone cut up bodies and dump them. He recalled the boys playing in the backyard while their mother gardened and kept watch. The police believed that Ed Chen had killed his family, but they needed proof. Ed finally took Mandy to his parents house, and showed her the bodies. Updated: 1:56 PM EDT June 30, 2022. Ed had told Vickie his parents and brother had all died tragically. [3], Forensic evidence yielded some information, but nothing that resulted in significant leads. It seems that Mandy was Eds motive for killing his family, and kept up appearances like paying the bills and doing yard work. Horan had announced that he would not seek the death penalty, but Chen still could have faced three life sentences if convicted by a jury. [2] Police requested an interview with Bramblett, during which they told him the family had died in a fire, without mentioning the evidence of violence. At Eds trial, his attorney, Peter Greenspun, said the confession should be thrown out because it was coerced. Kowalski said Jin Feng and Hai Yan Li did not speak fluent English. [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. 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 Chens were very successful business people, they lived in a nice mansion in a very wealthy neighborhood. Mandy and Ed met in high school, dated and were married for a few years. Local resident Jacob Beard was convicted of the murder in 1993, but he was later acquitted of all charges in a second trial in 2000. The Chens were in Taiwan more than they were in Virginia.
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