Lam Luong

Case details

Lam Luong was a Vietnamese refugee who was sentenced to death in Alabama for throwing his four children from the Dauphin Island Bridge.

The offence

On January 7, 2008, Lam Luong threw four children from the Dauphin Island Bridge into the Mississippi Sound from about 80 feet below.

Testimony described that Luong drove to the bridge and threw the children one by one into the Mississippi Sound.

Prosecutors said most of the children suffered injuries to the head or neck in addition to asphyxia due to drowning, and that only one child died from drowning alone.

Lam Luong was accused of dropping the four from atop the Dauphin Island Bridge after an argument with their mother, Kieu Phan.

Kieu Phan was described as the children’s mother. Lam Luong was described as her common-law husband. Ryan Phan was described as 3 years old and as Phan’s child with another man.

Lam Luong was described as the father of three of the victims: Hannah Luong (2), Lindsey Luong (1), and Danny Luong (4 months). Ryan Phan (3) was described as raised from infancy by Luong but was not his biological child.

Investigation

After the children were reported missing, Bayou La Batre police reported that Luong confessed to the killings as an act of revenge against the children’s mother, Kieu Phan.

Prosecutors said Luong gave an account after the children were reported missing that the children were taken Monday morning by a woman named Kim who claimed to know their mother and would get them food and clothes, and that the children were not returned later Monday as promised.

A search recovered the children’s bodies from waters off the Gulf coast during a search involving hundreds of volunteers in boats, aircraft, and scouring the shoreline on foot.

The last body was found 144 miles south of the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico.

Arrest and early court proceedings

Lam Luong denied killing the children and said police harassed him into making a false confession.

During Luong’s first court appearance, he was ordered held without bond. Circuit Court Judge Charles McKnight denied bond and described the allegations as “heinous.”

In denying bond, Judge Charles McKnight said: “I've never seen anything like this before,”

Lam Luong was shackled hand and foot and wore a bulletproof vest amid heavy security at the brief bond hearing.

Confession and recantation

Lam Luong confessed to the killings after reporting the children missing and claiming a woman had taken them, then later recanted that he had thrown the children off the bridge.

Lam Luong’s appointed attorney at the time, Joseph Kulahowski, said Luong told him he falsely confessed under pressure after being questioned Monday night and the entire day Tuesday.

Lukong’s appointed attorney Joe Kulakowski said: “When police yelled, `We know you killed them,' he at some point realized they weren't going to believe him.”

Kulakowski also said: “We don't have any bodies. There's a lot of emotion and nobody knows the facts right now,”

Timeline

• January 7, 2008 — Lam Luong threw his four children off the Dauphin Island Bridge.
• January 8, 2008 — Lam Luong filed a missing persons report for his four children.
• January 10, 2008 — Lam Luong made his first court appearance to face four counts of capital murder; Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Charles McKnight denied bond.
• January 12, 2008 — The body of four-month-old Danny was found in Port Aux Pines.
• January 13, 2008 — The body of 3-year-old Ryan was found in Bayou La Fourche.
• January 15, 2008 — The body of one-year-old Lindsey was found near Jose Bay; Lam Luong was granted in court a Vietnamese translator.
• January 20, 2008 — The body of two-year-old Hannah was found in Venice, Louisiana.
• January 26, 2008 — A public funeral was held for all four children at the Bayou la Batre Civic Center, followed by a private burial at Odd Fellows Cemetery.
• February 16, 2013 — The conviction and sentence were overturned.
• April 29, 2009 — Lam Luong was sentenced to death.
• August 8, 2008 — Lam Luong’s defense lawyers asked for a change of venue because of pre-trial publicity.
• October 15, 2008 — The defense team asked Judge Graddick for permission to go to Vietnam to interview Luong’s family.
• November 13, 2008 — Judge Graddick denied the defense team’s request to go to Vietnam.
• March 5, 2009 — Luong pleaded guilty; he later reversed that decision after learning a trial would be held despite the plea.
• March 6, 2009 — Lam Luong pleaded guilty in Mobile to capital murder and asked to be put to death.
• March 17, 2009 — Lam Luong’s capital murder trial began in Mobile County Circuit Court.
• March 19, 2009 — A jury convicted Lam Luong of murdering four children tossed from an Alabama bridge in 2008.
• April 30, 2009 — A judge ordered the death sentence for Lam Luong.

Trial

During the trial, Kieu Phan testified that Luong had a girlfriend, abused drugs, and did not find a job when the family returned to the Bayou La Batre area.

Testimony described that Luong was unemployed, addicted to cocaine, and had a habit of staying out all night, and that he was always asking for money.

Family members testified about Luong’s prior behavior and described that before the January 2008 deaths, he was an affectionate father but perhaps not attentive or a good provider.

Dung Phan, the defendant’s mother-in-law, testified that on the day the children died, Luong placed them in a van and announced he was going for a drive.

Witnesses testified that the three children Hannah Luong (2), Lindsey Luong (1), and Danny Luong (4 months) wore neither coats nor shoes, and that Ryan Phan (3) was the only child properly dressed when Luong took off with them.

Tracy Phan, Luong’s sister-in-law, testified that she asked Luong in near hysterics: “Why did you give the kids to people you don't know?”

Tracy Phan said she expressed the opinion to Luong that “crack people will do anything,” and testified that Luong looked down and cried.

Luong participated in what his wife and her family said they believed was a genuine door-to-door search for a mysterious woman who had the children.

After Luong’s arrest, Kieu Phan testified that Luong told her from jail that no one would ever find the children because they were all dead.

Kieu Phan testified: “He was laughing,”

At a hearing on March 5, Luong pleaded guilty but subsequently reversed that decision after learning a trial would be held despite the plea.

Lam Luong pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon in Mobile to capital murder and asked to be put to death, acknowledging the killings in a letter.

The letter stated: “I am no longer want to live. But I don't know how to die,”

Judge Charles Graddick cautioned Luong that his lawyers did not believe a guilty plea was in his best interest and told Luong: “All the medical indications are that you understand what you're doing and that you have no mental defects,”

The jury convicted Luong in March 2009 of capital murder.

The jury deliberated for only about 40 minutes in Mobile before convicting Luong of murder.

Luong declined an opportunity to address the court and presented no defense witnesses at trial.

Lam Luong did not testify at his trial or during a later sentencing phase.

Luong’s lawyer Greg Hughes asked the jury to return a reduced charge of manslaughter, and Hughes said Luong was on drugs when he threw the children from a Gulf coast bridge in January 2008.

Lam Luong’s attorneys urged Judge Charles Graddick to sentence Luong to life in prison without parole, the only alternative to the death sentence under his capital murder conviction.

Sentencing

On April 29, 2009, Circuit Judge Charles Graddick sentenced Lam Luong to death.

Luong looked toward his wife and, through an interpreter, apologized.

At sentencing, Judge Charles Graddick said: The children, during their fall from the bridge, must have felt "sheer terror" and were alive when they hit the water.

Judge Charles Graddick also said he would order prison officials to show Luong photographs of the four children each day he is on death row.

Appeals

An appeal was automatic under Alabama’s death penalty law.

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Lam Luong’s conviction and death sentence and sent the murder case against Lam Luong back to Mobile County Circuit Court.

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the conviction and death sentence on a 4-0 vote, with Judge Mary Windom recusing herself.

The appellate court ruled that Mobile County Presiding Circuit Judge Charles Graddick erred in turning down a defense request to move the trial to another county because of extensive pretrial publicity.

The appellate court stated: “Based on the record before us, it is clear that publicity surrounding the murders completely saturated the Mobile community in 2008. A great deal of that publicity was prejudicial,”

The appellate court further stated: “The coverage consisted of Luong’s prior criminal history, Luong’s confession, Luong’s desire to plead guilty, Luong’s decision to withdraw his guilty plea, the community’s outrage over the death of the four children, and what the community believed should be Luong’s punishment.”

The opinion cited a long list of newspaper stories and also noted that hundreds of stories aired on local television broadcasts. Only 15 of the 156 potential jurors indicated that they had not heard about the case.

A poll commissioned by the defense showed that 84 percent of Mobile County residents had heard about the case, including 71 percent who were familiar with the defendant’s decision to plead guilty. The poll also suggested that 71 percent of those questioned thought he was guilty.

The appellate court stated: “At the time of Luong’s trial, the case was still of great interest to the public,”

The appellate court also faulted other rulings by Judge Graddick during the trial, including:

• Graddick’s decision to deny the defense funds to travel to Luong’s native Vietnam to investigate his childhood.
• Graddick’s decision to allow jurors to see a videotape of then-Bayou La Batre Police Capt. Darryl Wilson throwing four sandbags off of the bridge because an appropriate expert did not testify about the formula used to calculate the rate of speed.
• Graddick’s failure to appoint a Vietnamese-language interpreter registered with the state Administrative Office of Courts; Luong’s attorneys argued that the interpreter’s translations were inadequate.

Outcome

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Lam Luong’s conviction and death sentence and remanded the case to Mobile County Circuit Court.

Other details

People and relationships

Kieu Phan was the mother of the four children.

Kieu Phan was described as 23 years old.

Lam Luong was described as the common-law husband of Kieu Phan.

Tracy Phan was described as Luong’s sister-in-law.

Dung Phan was described as Luong’s mother-in-law.

Lam Luong’s sister-in-law and his wife testified during the trial.

Birthplace, immigration, and residency

Lam Luong came to the United States from Vietnam at 14, and immigration records indicated he gained legal permanent residence status as a refugee, but never became a U.S. citizen.

He was described as coming to the U.S. from Vietnam in 1984.

He was described as until recently living in Hinesville, Georgia.

Drug use and employment

Testimony described that Luong used crack cocaine and was addicted to cocaine and chronically unemployed.

One account described that he was a part-time shrimp boat worker.

Another account described that he had been fired from a restaurant job.

Prior legal issues mentioned

Luong had a crack cocaine possession charge pending in Hinesville.

Memorial and community response

About 600 people attended a memorial service for the children in Bayou La Batre, and the children were later buried at Oddfellows Cemetery.

Cards, gifts, and handmade memorials were sent from across the nation and filled the Bayou La Batre Community Center.

The Rev. Phi Vo counseled the children’s mother.

Phi Vo said: “They would like to stay out of the media to let the law enforcement and the judicial system do their work,”

A temple prayer service was planned, and Devan Phan said: “There's really nothing we can do but sit tight and pray. Hope for a miracle.”

Nguyen Bon, a nun at a Buddhist temple, said she had been in constant prayer for the children since they disappeared.

Media and venue publicity

The appellate court found that publicity surrounding the murders saturated the Mobile community in 2008 and was prejudicial.