JESSICA NGUYEN - 12 yo - Gaithersburg MD

12-year-old Jessica Nguyen victim of stabbing
June 7, 2011 - 03:35 pm

Almost four weeks after a 12-year-old girl was found stabbed in her family’s basement, no arrest has been made.

The Nguyen family has moved from the Gaithersburg house that was the scene of the crime. Classmates of Jessica had set up a memorial for the slain girl, but it is now gone.

Police are still investigating.

“All I know is my dad is very cautious because I have a little sister and he doesn't want anything to happen to her. So now we're just very, very precautious,” said Edver Sotomayor, a neighbor.

Police have only confirmed a murder by stabbing in the basement. There has been no appeal to the public for help, no reward for information and no warning to the community that a murder suspect may be on the loose.

All have been taken as signs that police believe the killer was not an intruder. Still, the case remains open.

“Detectives are working this case every day. There are things that we can’t discuss about this case right now they're working on. We're asking for patience,” said Capt. Paul Starks.

The family moved out of the house shortly after the murder.

“They don't want to live here anymore,” Lihn Le, a family friend, said at the time. She was at the Nguyen family’s house to help them pack.

Montgomery county police confirm that murder victim Jessica Nguyen was stabbed to death. Previously, police had not revealed the manner of death.

“I know she was murdered, but (what) I don't is why,” Le said.

Investigators spent days combing the home and nearby property for clues. They focused on the basement where the girl's body was found. Investigators also combed an overgrown grassy area, potentially looking for a murder weapon.

Jessica was a straight-A honor roll student at Gaithersburg Middle School. She was found dead last week in a slaying that has shocked the community.

A memorial page for Jessica set up on Facebook already has hundreds of comments.

Officers were called to the scene last week in the 700 block of Raven Avenue for an injury to a child, but instead found the girl slain in the basement of the townhome where she lives.

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/06/jessica-nguyen-12-year-old-victim-of-stabbing-61912.html

Stepfather Charged In Stabbing Death Of Girl
October 18, 2011 6:35 PM

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — Montgomery County police have arrested the stepfather of a 12-year-old girl found dead in her home in May.

Officers say 42-year-old David Rich Hang of Gaithersburg was charged Tuesday in an arrest warrant with first-degree murder. He is charged with stabbing Jessica Nguyen on May 31.

Police said they would release more details at a news conference Wednesday.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/10/18/stepfather-charged-in-stabbing-death-of-girl/

Sword killer David Hang convicted in Nguyen case
RYAN GORMAN
Thursday, August 16, 2012

A Maryland jury found a man who stabbed his 12-year-old stepdaughter 45 times guilty of first degree-murder on Wednesday.

David Hang, 42, was reportedly married to more than one woman and is said to have been upset at the drawn-out divorce proceeding with stepdaughter Jessica Nguyen's mother, causing him to kill the girl with a sword May 31, officials said.

Hang and Nguyen's mother, Khen Kim Vu, entered into a sham marriage in 2006 after Vu paid Hang between $20,000 and $25,000 so she could gain U.S. citizenship, the Washington Post reported. She found Hang after answering an ad in a Vietnamese language magazine.

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-08-16/news/33236739_1_nguyen-case-small-sword-murder

David Hang, stepfather of murdered honors student Jessica Nguyen, found slain in her Gaithersburg, Md., home, sentenced to life without parole

Dec 3, 2012

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (WUSA/AP) - David Hang, the stepfather of 12-year-old honors student Jessica Nguyen who was found slain in her Gaithersburg home was sentenced to life without parole on Monday afternoon, according to the office of the state's attorney for Montgomery County.
David Rich Hang was sentenced Monday in Montgomery County Circuit Court after a jury found him guilty in August of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors say the 43-year-old Hang killed Jessica Nguyen last year out of anger at the girl's family.

He had married the child's mother in a sham arrangement, but prosecutors say he had grown estranged from the woman, was desperate to end the marriage and was upset over money he felt he was owed.

John McCarthy, the county's top prosecutor, calls the crime a "brutal murder" and says he's pleased with the sentence.
The jury announced its verdict on August 15, 2012 after a trial that lasted eight days. The Jury deliberated for eight hours over two days.

The original sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 29 but was postponed due to Super Storm Sandy.

On May 31, 2011, Jessica was found stabbed to death in the basement of her family's Gaithersburg town home.
Her death was ruled a homicide.
According to the medical examiner, Nguyen was stabbed 45 times.

http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/232035/44/David-Hang-Stepfather-Of-Jessica-Nguyen-Sentenced-To-Life-Without-Parole