Nguyet Dang was 80 years old when she died on Wednesday, September 9, 2015, in El Monte. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died after she was burned and stabbed repeatedly at her home in the 3900 block of Glen Way. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described her as "an 80-year-old Vietnamese woman" and gave a detailed account of that morning. "The incident began about 7:55 a.m. when officers were called to the home where Dang lived with her daughter," who was 58, and the daughter's husband, who was 59. According to Sheriff's Lt. Eddie Hernandez, "The call was originally about a structure fire," but when officers arrived they saw the son-in-law walk out of the house holding his wife at knife point.
Both of them were on fire, Hernandez told the Times, and the daughter had burns over 90 percent of her body.
"She was so burned, her clothes had burned off," Hernandez said. "He was holding the victim with his left hand around her neck and a large Rambo-type knife to her clavicle." The officers ordered the man to drop the knife, and he ignored their repeated commands, the lieutenant said. "He started to raise the knife, and an officer fired once, striking him in the face."
After the shooting, officers checked the burning house for more victims and found Nguyet Dang in a rear bedroom. They had to break a window to reach her, said Det. Ray Lugo, and found that she was suffering from burns and multiple stab wounds in her back. The Times reported that a third victim, a man, was later found nearby, also with burns on his body and stab wounds.
Those are the last details in the public record available for this story. The record does not say whether the man who was shot survived his wound, whether he was ever charged, or what became of the daughter or the third victim. It does not explain what led to the fire or the attack, and no later outcome could be confirmed.
Little has been published about Nguyet Dang's own life. A memorial listing for a Nguyet Thi Dang, born June 18, 1935, who died on September 9, 2015, matches her age and the date of her death, which suggests it belongs to her. Nguyet Dang is a fairly common Vietnamese name, and searches for it turn up many other women who share it.
El Monte is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, east of Los Angeles, made up largely of modest single-family homes and apartment buildings. It has long been home to many working families and to large Latino and Asian American communities, including many households from Vietnam and China.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Nguyet Dang could be found in news archives or public records. More than ten years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who lived on or near Glen Way in El Monte in September 2015, or who knew the family, may hold information that could help investigators explain what happened inside the house that morning. Anyone with information can contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
