DC Area: Edward Chen Gets 36 Years in Deaths of Parents, Brother
Mark Fenster
By Tom Jackman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 9, 2002; 12:59 PM
Edward Y. Chen pleaded guilty this morning to three counts of
first-degree murder, admitting that he shot his parents and older
brother to death in their Great Falls home in 1995, then left their
bodies in the house for nearly four more years.
Shortly after the plea, Chen was sentenced to 36 years in prison.
The combined plea and sentencing hearing brought an abrupt end to a
case that unfolded just as suddenly nine months ago, when Chen's
ex-girlfriend called Fairfax County police and revealed Chen's dark
secret. The woman told a police dispatcher that when Chen was 19, he
shot his father, Wu-Hung Chen, 53; his mother, Yeh-Mei Chen, 52; and
his brother Raymond, 25, on August 17, 1995.
Edward Chen then locked up the house, keeping his family's remains
there until 1999, when the house flooded and he dumped the bodies in
the Chesapeake Bay.
The elder Chens lived mainly in Taiwan and had never been reported
missing. Detectives investigated the revelation of a previously
unknown triple homicide, then arrested Edward Chen, now 27, on March
29. Later that night, he admitted to investigators that he had
purchased a 30-30 Winchester rifle, went into his family members'
bedrooms and shot them in the middle of the night.
"And one night I really just lost my nerve, lost my mind and I did
it," Chen told Fairfax detectives. "I shot them. . . . My brother and
my parents."
Although Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Jonathan C. Thacher later ruled
that Chen's confession was inadmissible, prosecutors had witnesses,
including Chen's ex-girlfriend Vickie Henry and his ex-wife Mandy, who
had seen the bodies or heard about the killings.
Chen's lawyers, Peter Greenspun and Jonathan Shapiro, negotiated a
deal last week with Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan
Jr.
Horan had already said he would not seek the death penalty, but Chen
still could have faced three life sentences if convicted by a jury.
Instead, both sides agreed that the middle point of Virginia's
suggested sentencing guidelines, which ranged from 26 to 45 years, was
appropriate.
"I want to apologize to my family and friends," Chen said in court,
speaking publicly for the first time, "especially my daughter, for
what I put them through. I hope that by not going to trial, I saved
them more pain and suffering. I feel very guilty for what I did, also
guilt and shame, and I accept punishment for what I did."
Greenspun estimated that Chen will serve about 30 years. Although
Virginia does not have parole, it does reduce sentences slightly for
good behavior in prison. He would be eligible for geriatric release
when he is 60, after serving about 33 years.
"He can't get out until he's 60," Horan said afterward. "That's
satisfactory."
Both Greenspun and Shapiro said Chen was remorseful and had carried
photos of his family even after he killed them. "He would cry about
what had happened," Shapiro said. "He clearly missed them."
Horan said he would not seek charges against Chen's ex-wife, Mandy
Chen, who glimpsed the bodies but did not report the deaths, or
Michael Reese, who helped Chen dump the bodies in the Chesapeake Bay.
He said Mandy Chen had not committed a crime, and the statute of
limitations had expired on Reese's misdemeanor crime of being an
accessory after the fact.
© 2002 The Washington Post Company
JC
"Mark Fenster" <Fenster_2...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:b5e42449.0212...@posting.google.com...
> Edward Chen Gets 36 Years in Deaths of Parents, Brother
>
> By Tom Jackman
> Washington Post Staff Writer
> Monday, December 9, 2002; 12:59 PM
>
> Edward Y. Chen pleaded guilty this morning to three counts of
> first-degree murder, admitting that he shot his parents and older
> brother to death in their Great Falls home in 1995, then left their
> bodies in the house for nearly four more years.
>
> Shortly after the plea, Chen was sentenced to 36 years in prison.
>
> The combined plea and sentencing hearing brought an abrupt end to a
> case that unfolded just as suddenly nine months ago, when Chen's
> ex-girlfriend called Fairfax County police and revealed Chen's dark
> secret. The woman told a police dispatcher that when Chen was 19, he
> shot his father, Wu-Hung Chen, 53; his mother, Yeh-Mei Chen, 52; and
> his brother Raymond, 25, on August 17, 1995.
> © 2002 The Washington Post Company
What a strange turn of events. Wonder why he did it. Overwhelming stress,
pressure to perform in some way I suppose (would like to hear the supposed
reason). He'd have gotten away with it too, if he'd kept it to himself. What
a weird case. So odd that the police never became involved -
JC
Mark Fenster
[snip]
>
> What a strange turn of events. Wonder why he did it. Overwhelming stress,
> pressure to perform in some way I suppose (would like to hear the supposed
> reason). He'd have gotten away with it too, if he'd kept it to himself. What
> a weird case. So odd that the police never became involved -
>
> JC
JC,
Picture of Edward Chen and a chronology of the crime at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32653-2002Dec9.html
Some additional information from a story from today's (12/10/2002)
Washington Post might shed some light on why Chen murdered his parents
and brother.
Chen's father owned a heating and ventilation company in Taipei and
sent his sons to Northern Virginia for their education. The brothers
lived in a house in Herndon, and each graduated from Herndon High
School. Raymond Chen began working in real estate, including
overseeing five Fairfax properties his parents bought, and Edward Chen
enrolled at the University of Virginia.
Shortly after, Edward Chen began dating Mandy Kolbe. His parents
disapproved, Horan said, and in summer 1995, they took Edward Chen
back to Taiwan and placed him in a mental institution.
Edward Chen returned with his family to Great Falls and killed them so
that he could continue dating Kolbe, Horan said. He revealed the crime
to Kolbe, but she said she didn't report it because she both loved and
feared Chen. The couple soon had a child, married and divorced. Their
daughter is now 6.
In 1998, according to court records, Chen assumed his brother's
identity and began selling the family's homes.
*****************
I too find it strange the police were not aware of the crime for over
four years. I would have thought that somebody (letter carrier,
gas/electric worker) would have had some legitimate business to come
close enough to the house to smell rotting human remains, and then
tipped off police. Neighbors would have had to be aware that the house
was unoccupied.
It appears that relatives accepted Chen's statement that the parents
died in an automobile accident.
Fenster
JC
> JC,
>
> Picture of Edward Chen and a chronology of the crime at:
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32653-2002Dec9.html
>
> *****************
>
> I too find it strange the police were not aware of the crime for over
> four years. I would have thought that somebody (letter carrier,
> gas/electric worker) would have had some legitimate business to come
> close enough to the house to smell rotting human remains, and then
> tipped off police. Neighbors would have had to be aware that the house
> was unoccupied.
>
> It appears that relatives accepted Chen's statement that the parents
> died in an automobile accident.
>
>
> Fenster
Thx for this article - it explains a lot. Taking him back to Taipai to a
mental institution for dating non-Chinese, whoa (assuming Mandy Kolbe is
non-Chinese). He must have killed his brother in order to get away with
killing the parents. The part I find most odd is that the brother didn't
have friends from high school who would have missed him, been
concerned/suspicious. Wonder if Edward told everyone all 3 had been killed
in an accident. Whatever he said, it must have convincing on all fronts. And
what a pal that Reese guy was - the kind to help you move dead bodies -
somebody here had that as a sig line.
I find his sincerity, his guilty conscience, vis a vis his sentencing
statement, fairly convincing (which surprised me).
JC