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. She declined to set bond. 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. The brutal, unsolved quadruple homicide has affected the community deeplyand is still on peoples minds, Pastor Charlie Muller told A&E True Crime. 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. HENRY COUNTY, Va. A decades-old murder case now has new leads. She believed him. After a clemency petition to Governor of Virginia Mark Warner was rejected, along with an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Earl Bramblett was executed in the electric chair for the murder of the Hodges family at Greensville Correctional Center, Jarratt, Virginia, on April 9, 2003. Fairfax County Police are searching for their bodies, Horan said. 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. Reporter covering criminal justice locally and nationally. It's been 20 years since the Short family was killed. Jin Feng Chen and Hai Yan Li were natives of China's Fujian province. [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. "I've never seen anything like it", said Carol Lawlor, the town's police chief. [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. Catherine Kitty Pappas Murder: Is George Joseph Cvek Dead or Alive. 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. 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. Unfortunately, they have not been able to identify any viable suspects or persons of interest. Ed was with his five year old daughter, Samantha, at the time and he said he wanted to say goodbye to her. They immediately became smitten with each other, and were engaged after 14 months. Tips can also be submitted by calling 1-866-411-TIPS(8477), or call Fairfax County Police at (703) 691-2131. [6] Even so, Soares admitted at a news conference around the anniversary of the Chens' deaths that very little progress had been made. Mandy and Ed met in high school, dated and were married for a few years. GUILDERLAND . 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. . Edward lived off rental incomes for a while, but with expensive tastes and mounting bills decided to start selling the family properties. Drawings of stick figures with arrows that corresponded to the Hodges' bullet wounds were found at Bramblett's place of employment. The police said he was very matter of fact and didnt show much emotion. A triple homicide goes undetected for years, until a tip changes everything. Tune in next week to hear from our favorite neighborhood papaya hater. My brother and my parents." On Saturday, police identified those killed as Shirley Zhou, 48, James Wenjie Chen, 16, and Hong Chen, 52. [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. "We've done a lot of work here.". "I shot them. The child, who was living with her father, is being cared for by friends, Horan said. The statue of limitations had expired. "This is truly peculiar.". [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. Edward Chen returned with his family to Great Falls and killed them so that he could continue dating Kolbe, Horan said. Lets dive into the details surrounding the incident, shall we? You have to actually be sitting across from the person who did that to ask that question. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. The crime. [5], Police were slow to release information, and much of what was reported in the early days of the case came from relatives of the Chens who talked to the Chinese media at a news conference in New York City's Chinatown. According to reports, Chen owned a Chinese restaurant. Samantha was eventually picked up that day by a friend of Eds. Despite more than 600 leads in the case, investigators couldnt zero in on any suspects. A year after the killings, P. David Soares, Albany Countys district attorney, offered immunity from immigration charges to anyone who came forward with information. [3] In addition to the NYPD and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), both of which made interpreters available, investigators had reached out for help to police departments not only in other North American cities with large Asian populations, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Montreal, but to law enforcement in China, as well. [3], Further inspection of the Hodges house revealed purposefully-disconnected telephone lines and the presence of a petroleum-based accelerant in several areas. Fairfax County police believe Hong Chen fatally shot Zhou, his wife, and James Chen, his son. There are several prevailing theories as to what may have happened to the Chen family. He said that Mandy Chen had not committed a crime and that the statute of limitations had expired for Reese's part in the crime. In . 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. [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. The week of the killing, a lengthy article in The New Yorker had documented this network, predominantly composed of Fujianese, for whom even the low pay and long hours at restaurants in the U.S. are preferable to the paucity of economic opportunities at home;[5] the author's primary source mentioned having taken a day bus from Chinatown to Albany to work at a restaurant there at one point. Bicoastal besties MM and Katy talk wine and (unsolved) mysteries each week. Her sisters, Caroline and Mary, were widows who helped the unmarried Virginian run the boarding school for girls. Later, he took her to the Chen residence and showed her the bodies of his family members. Also, how do you WILLINGLY help someone cut up bodies and dump them. 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. They lived a quiet, uneventful life, and people had no idea about the tragedy that would befall the family. This page is not available in other languages. Soon police gathered additional incriminating evidence against Bramblett. 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. A witness had seen a vehicle similar to Bramblett's driving past the Hodges home during the fire, without stopping. The couple allowed them to search the house. However, Mandy never turned Ed in, they got married, had a child together and were married for about two years. Jin Feng Chen's brother denied the rumors. However, Anthony and Eddy often came to her home to play with her puppies. Ed said he had to use his brothers name to take care of his familys business accounts. Still, law enforcement officials could not find any evidence of complaints or criminal records related to the Chen family, and their neighbors did not report seeing any conflicts between family members. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Chen, 43,. [Watch episodes of Cold Case Files in the A&E App.]. At this point, the police werent aware that a family was even missing. Shortly after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, Chen, 27, was sentenced to 36 years in prison. Police responded and discovered the bodies inside. In the weeks following the murder, local Pastor Charlie Muller's church donated $5,000 for a reward. The brothers lived in a house in Herndon, and each graduated from Herndon High School. Edward Chen Mandy got pregnant and Edward married her. Gaining entry, authorities found 37-year-old Teresa Lynn Hodges' body on a couch, still burning she had been strangled and doused with diesel fuel. It is rumored that Jin Feng Che was heavily involved in the underground network and personally handled many of the transactions, often keeping large amounts of money in his home. At this rate, the police still didnt have the bodies, but they did decide to do one more thing. The police needed more evidence before they could rip up the flooring. 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. Soon they had a new baby daughter. I am going to my death having had a great life because of my two great sons, Mike and Doug. Vickie started becoming suspicious when she would get phone calls about a Raymond Chen, Eds brother. Authorities eventually determined the murders occurred in the early morning hours of October 8, 2014. Anyone with any information about the case is asked to contact New York State Police, Troop G, Major Crimes at (518) 783-3212 or email crimetip@troopers.ny.gov. A&E reports that Chen moved to the United States legally, but his wife may have been undocumented. In spring of 2002, the Fairfax police received a tip from Eds ex-fiance, a woman name Vickie Taylor. I'm going to my death with a clear conscience. However, they did not find any links to the Chen family or the murders. Asked how they could be located after so much time had passed, Horan said Thats an art form all by itself.. I hope that by not going to trial, I saved everyone more pain and suffering. Ed admitted to everything. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. They settled in the Albany suburb of Guilderland, near a take-out Chinese restaurant owned and operated by relatives, where Jin also worked. The Chen's were a very traditional family, but they came to the U.S. so that the boys could go to school. 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. 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. Once questioned, Mandy mentioned that her relationship with Edward was quite challenging since his family was against the union. 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 With a trial set for yesterday, Chen's attorneys, Peter D. Greenspun and Jonathan Shapiro, negotiated a deal. The bodies of Wu Hong Chen, 53; Shieh Yeh-Mei Chen, 52, and Raymond Chen, 26, have never been found. 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. 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. They did just that. [3] The family offered a $5,000 reward,[5] and Soares promised that, to the extent he could, his office would not initiate any actions that would result in deportation against anyone who had information to share, but neither offer induced much cooperation with the police. All rights reserved. [3], Technological factors also made collecting evidence difficult. Police are asking anyone with information to call Detective Spooner at (703) 246-7800, or contact Crime Solvers by visiting http://www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text-a-tip by texting TIP187 plus your message to CRIMES(274637). 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. All rights reserved, Metropolitan Police Department (DC Police / MPD), Family Awaits Return of DC Mother Missing for More Than 3 Weeks, Why Fans Say Trips to Disney World Are Now Incredibly Complicated' to Pull Off, This 28-Year-Old Ignored Warnings About Job-Hopping and Doubled Her Salary to $186K in 5 Years, Woman Who Smashed Bus Is Jailed Despite Defense's Report of Mental Illness, Daughter of Buccaneers LB Shaq Barrett Drowns in Family Pool. ", What We Know About The Unsolved 2014 Murders Of The Chen Family. As part of his plea agreement, he was sentenced to 36 years in prison in December 2002. In 1998, according to court records, Chen assumed his brother's identity and began selling the family's homes. Nevertheless, she finally convinced authorities to start an investigation and helped them get in touch with Edwards ex-wife, Mandy Kolbe. 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. The Chen family, Wu-Hung, 53, Yei-Mei, 52, Raymond, 25, and Edward, moved from Taiwan to Fairfax, Virginia. Nonetheless, it was impossible to mount a case without bodies, and despite Edwards former friend, Michael Reese, claiming he helped the former dump the bodies in the Chesapeake Bay, the police were unable to locate them. A DNA test on a pubic hair found in the bedroom where the girls were found was matched to Bramblett. 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. He recalled having brief conversations with Jin, whose English was adequate enough. When Leslie Leon Burchart was arrested in 2000, he admitted to murdering at least 7 elderly women in 1996 during a killing spree that spanned 6 months. It also said that an unnamed source had told the paper that Chen had shut down his restaurant two years earlier and his wife was in the U.S. illegally. 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.. "It was a shock to us to find this out," said Al Fostin, the owner. 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. As reported by A&E, some sources have suggested Jin Feng Chenwas involved in an operation involving undocumented Chinese restaurant employees throughout the region. It was discovered that Bramblett punched his time card at work 20 minutes after the fire was started (the drive time from the Hodges home to his job was 20 minutes) and, after realizing his error, attempted to black out the entry on his time-card. Bramblett murdered each family member in their residence before setting it on fire, and in 1997 was sentenced to death for the murders. Chen and his wife were from the province of Fujian, on the southeastern coast of China, and came to the United States in the early 2000s. It seems that Mandy was Eds motive for killing his family, and kept up appearances like paying the bills and doing yard work. Police were also frustrated when Apple refused their initial requests to release the Chens' iPhone records. I personally think 36 years is a light sentence for 3 brutal murders. Although the police were reluctant to believe Vickie initially, she stuck to her story and even claimed to have more witnesses. A McLean man killed his wife and son Friday before shooting himself, police in Fairfax County said Saturday. Contents of this site are Copyright 2023 Ellington. [2] Bramblett displayed anger and stated that the "son of a bitch offed his family and killed himself", which indicated prior knowledge and immediately made him a prime suspect.[1]. Rosalyn Kowalski, who was a neighbor of the Chens, told 6 News, "I'll never forget that day, never." No one had suggested it. The judge agreed and the confession was thrown out. Horan has indicated he will consider seeking the death sentence for the younger Chen. He was 20 when his family disappeared, according to police. On October 8, 2014, 39-year-old Jin Feng Chen failed to report for work at a Chinese restaurant near his Guilderland, New Yorkhome. Other rumors suggest Chen hosted a gambling party at his home in the evening before he and his family were killed. It remains disturbing to us to have this case open, McNally says. [2] They dismembered the bodies, poured concrete on them, put them in duffel bags and took them out to the Chesapeake Bay and dumped them. However, there was little other evidence suggesting who killed the family or why. He requested the services of a public defender, but Judge Jane Delbridge found he has sufficient financial resources to pay for an attorney. Three people found dead inside a home in McLean, Virginia, on Friday died in a double murder-suicide, police said. The multi-jurisdictional investigation included Guilderland police, New York State Police, New York City police, the U.S. Department of State and the FBI. However, their relationship ended after two years. Ed had to tip toe around his relationship with Mandy, even buying two apartments so his parents wouldnt find out. 7994 Audubon Avenue, #101, Alexandria, VA 22306 - Kenneth J. Russell was murdered here. Tue, October 8th 2019, 2:15 PM PDT. 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. Language and cultural barriers also slowed down the investigation. 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. A picture of Eds mom, Yei-Mei and their mansion. The coworker was greeted by the gruesome scene of four brutal murders that remain unsolved to this day. The Chens were a very traditional family, but they came to the U.S. so that the boys could go to school. Its season 4 episode 6, titled Ghost of Great Falls.. Ed had become very unhappy and even confrontational. [3], In 2018, Robert Patnaude, commander of state police Troop G, which covers the Albany area, reiterated earlier pleas for help from the public, noting that sometimes even apparently trivial and innocuous information has solved cases. However, their efforts were hampered by seemingly unfounded rumors and language barriers. Hong Chen, 52, Shirley Zhou, 48, and James Wenjie Chen, 16, were found dead in their. After hearing this, and finally digging up the floor in Chens former house, the blood stain tested positive for blood. The boysdescribed as kind, gentle and joyfulloved gardening, and Garden Club was the last activity they participated in at school, The Altamont Enterprise reported. At Eds trial, his attorney, Peter Greenspun, said the confession should be thrown out because it was coerced. Chens brother dismissed that report, saying Chen only hosted small card games for friends. The Unsolved Chen Family Murders of Upstate New York Remain Shrouded in Mystery, https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/chen-family-murder. Disappearances of Tammy Akers and Angela Rader, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, List of people executed in the United States in 2003, "Family's Killer Dies in Va. Electric Chair", "Forensic Files Episode List - Forensic Files", "THE NEW DETECTIVES Season 4 Ep 4 "Dead Wrong", Forensic Files - Season 8, Episode 16: "Private Thoughts" (22 minutes), The New Detectives - Season 4, Episode 4: "Dead Wrong" (53 minutes), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earl_Bramblett&oldid=1148180202, People executed by Virginia by electric chair, 21st-century executions of American people, Articles needing additional references from April 2018, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 4 April 2023, at 15:06. 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. [3], A year after the killings, Scott Coburn, head of the state police's criminal investigations bureau, said that 600 leads had come in from various sources, which he considered to be unusually low for a crime this serious. Soares said law enforcement officials are dealing with "one of the most complicated sets of circumstances [they] ever experienced in an investigation.". Police were called to the scene and determined that the family had been killed sometime in the hours before dawn that day by either a knife or a hammer. Kowalski said Jin Feng and Hai Yan Li did not speak fluent English. Interestingly, the court initially considered Edwards confession in police custody inadmissible, but Mandy, Michael, and Vickies testimonies helped strengthen the case. Investigators believe the family members were shot in their bedrooms, with a rifle, in the house in Great Falls. Thus, Edward Chen remains behind bars at the Baskerville Correctional Center in Baskerville, Virginia, and will be released in August 2033. The Chen's were very successful business people, they lived in a nice mansion in a very wealthy neighborhood. Vickie said she had information about her exs dead family that were killed in August of 1995. I watched an episode of Deadline Crime for my research on this case. Franklin was put to death in 2013 for a different 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. Since his English was extremely limited, he had to ask another coworker, a relative of the Chens, to call 9-1-1 for him. Edward Chen, the Chens' younger son and Raymond's younger brother, is now charged with three counts of murder. By Joyce Chen July 15, 2016 Youtube 9 Some of the most chilling murders in recent history have taken place between family members, including the case of the Memphis mother who slashed four of. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Photo: Skip Dickstein/The Albany Times Union via AP 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. After the boys deaths, the local school district created a memorial scholarship in their name to benefit a graduating senior going into a field of study related to the environment. Three people found dead inside a home in McLean, Virginia, on Friday died in a double murder-suicide, police said. "That's satisfactory.". He kept his family's remains there until 1999, when a pipe burst and the house flooded. It was determined that it was Wu-Hungs blood. Impromptu memorials of flowers, candles and other mementoes were started not only at the house but the boys' elementary school. 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]. The triple murder case at a home in Great Falls involved the Chen family. [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. 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. Muller is the pastor of Victory Church, located in Albany, which has offered a $5,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. 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. Young Performing Artists In McLean Awarded Scholarships By The Alden, McLean Home Listed For $3.2M Offers Luxurious Living Indoors, Outdoors, Special Grand Jury To Investigate Fatal Police Shooting At Tysons Mall, Antique Brass and Silver Restoration Services: MONDAYS 10-4, Celebrate Pilates Day: FREE Pilates Reformer classes & Happy Hour, SONOVA presents: Beethoven, Brews, and BBQ, Montgomery County Virtual 50+ Employment Expo Tuesday, May 16th, Summer Travel Season Could Be Busiest Ever In VA, AAA Says, VA Weather: Hazardous Weather Outlook Issued, Soggy Week Ahead, McLean Area Prospective Homeowners: See 5 New Homes On The Market, Math Whizzes, Finest Principal, White House Preserver: NoVA Good News, Morel Mushrooms Popping Up In VA: When To Find Springtime Delicacy. Hello, listeners. Edward Chen, the Chens' younger son and Raymond's younger brother, is now charged with three counts of murder. His final words were, "I didn't murder the Hodges family. His parents disapproved, Horan said, and in summer 1995, they took Edward Chen back to Taiwan and placed him in a mental institution. He could not say yet whether the killings were the work of organized crime, but allowed that "it's certainly a theory".[4]. July 6, 2017. [6][4], The crime stunned Guilderland, normally a quiet suburb. 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.