Lan Anh Le

Background

Lan Anh Le was a 22-year-old woman at sentencing. She was 20 at the time of the killing.

Monica Anne Anderson was 26 years old. Anderson was identified as Le’s on-and-off-again lover and girlfriend.

Le was raised as one of 10 children by Vietnamese refugees in a cramped south Sacramento home. Child Protective Services investigated allegations of abuse and endangerment on several occasions, and the children had been taught not to talk to them. Her public defender, Sandra Di Giulio, described Le as having been troubled as a teenager, including a 16-year-old Le who hooked up with the wrong guy, one responsible for getting her addicted to drugs. Di Giulio also described that, at a group home for women, Le began to get her life in order, only to get aged out of the system.

After reviewing the evidence, Di Giulio told jurors: “you're going to understand why this was a crime of passion, a crime that can only happen when a person like Le has such intense feelings for somebody else.”

The offence

Le and Anderson spent the night drinking vodka and snorting lines of cocaine before a volatile argument broke out in the bedroom over a cellphone charger.

As Anderson tried to flee her Citrus Heights apartment, Le chased her down with a butcher knife. Le sank the knife into Anderson’s lover’s back and then, after Anderson collapsed on the ground, into Anderson’s chest, arms, and neck.

A forensic pathologist would count 91 stab wounds.

Deputy District Attorney Anthony Ortiz described the killing as “brutally murdered without any just reason at all.”

Investigation

A prosecutor stated that some evidence would be shown to jurors using a projector during opening statements.

Ortiz said the evidence included clips of the videotaped statement Le gave to a Citrus Heights detective shortly after the attack. In one clip, Le claimed: “everything would have been peaceful” if Anderson had just handed over the cellphone charger. In another, Le said Anderson “didn't really put up a fight.” Le also said: “She started running away from me, and that's when it happened,” referring to the stabbing. Le said: “I was just really pissed.”

Ortiz described a frantic call Anderson had made to her mother six months earlier. Ortiz stated that in the call, Anderson said her girlfriend had blindly attacked her, blackening her eye and bruising her arm. Photos taken by a Citrus Heights police officer were shown to the jury.

Ortiz also said post-mortem pictures of Anderson’s “carved-up body” were displayed, including one that elicited an audible gasp from a relative in the audience.

Ortiz said the case involved “several decisions made that day – a decision to kill, a decision to chase her down, a decision to stab her multiple times in the back.”

Ortiz told jurors: “You're going to be left with the feeling, 'This is ridiculous.' ”

Arrest

Authorities reported that a violent struggle between two women ended in a fatal stabbing at a Citrus Heights apartment complex early Saturday morning.

The fight was reported around 2:30 a.m. at the complex at 7683 Greenback Lane, Citrus Heights. Police Sgt. Lee Herrington said the two women knew each other and it was not immediately clear what sparked the altercation in the complex common area.

Monica Anne Anderson, 26, suffered major injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Le was 20 years old at the time, was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital, and was arrested on murder charges.

Trial

The trial took place in Sacramento Superior Court in Dept. 17.

Attorneys debated in their opening statements whether Le stabbed Anderson in a premeditated, calculated attack or in a fit of passion.

Deputy District Attorney Anthony Ortiz argued the case was “straightforward” murder. Ortiz warned jurors they would see gruesome evidence during trial and argued that the stabbing was proof of “the viciousness of the attack.” Ortiz told jurors: “When you see the evidence, you'll come to no different conclusion - this was a murder.”

Sandra Di Giulio argued that Le acted in the heat of passion, fueled by vodka, cocaine, jealousy and rage. Di Giulio told the jury: “She did something while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine and emotion that she is never ever going to be able to take back.”

Di Giulio also told jurors: “It wasn't this deliberate, thought-out, planned, premeditated … murder.”

Di Giulio described Le’s childhood and troubled adolescence and told jurors that Le fell hard for Anderson, describing “looked up to (her) … this pretty, older girl who seemed to have everything.” Di Giulio described the relationship as young love that was “troubled” and “passionate.” Di Giulio told the jury: “She loved Monica Anderson so much, but on March 13, 2010, when Lan was just 20 years old, she did something while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine and emotion that she is never ever going to be able to take back,”

Di Giulio described Le lying down next to Anderson’s lifeless body and turning the knife on herself, cutting herself as she had done as a troubled teen, until a friend of Anderson’s took the knife from her hands and detained her until police arrived.

In addition, Di Giulio told jurors: “It wasn't this deliberate, thought-out, planned, premeditated … murder.”

A jury convicted Lan Anh Le of first-degree murder in the March 2010 stabbing of Monica Anderson.

Sentencing

On October 5, 2012, a Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Le to 25 years to life in prison.

Judge Ernest W. Sawtelle handed down the maximum sentence. Sawtelle addressed Anderson’s tearful family in the audience and told them he couldn’t help but think of his own daughter and what it would be like to lose a child. Sawtelle said: “My deepest sympathy is extended to you,” and “and I feel a great sense of sorrow on your behalf.”

Several of Anderson’s relatives addressed the court, describing their sense of loss and devastation after Anderson’s death. Anderson’s mother, Vee Arroyo, said it was “a mother's worst nightmare.” Arroyo said the grief had endangered her marriage, health, and job, and she said: “It has turned my life upside down,” adding that her voice was shaking.

Le’s public defender, Sandra Di Giulio, read a brief statement from Le apologizing for what she had done. Di Giulio read: “I hope you can forgive me,” and “I'm really remorseful for what I've done.”

After the hearing, Anderson’s family and friends hugged and cried in the hallway.

Arroyo said she was pleased by the sentence but added: “I still don't have my daughter back. Love story's sad ending goes to Sacramento jury in murder trial By Kim Minugh - The Sacramento Bee Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012 They told a tumultuous and dramatic story of a love affair between two young women, a tale replete with passion and partying, jealousy and a horrible ending. But it was how that tragic end played out that the two attorneys disagreed on: Was it a cold, calculated murder? Or a spontaneous act fueled by cocaine, liquor and rage? On Tuesday morning, the prosecutor and the public defender left the answer to jurors who will decide the fate of Lan Anh Le who, at the age of 22, stands accused of murder in the death of her lover, 26-year-old Monica Anne Anderson. A few key details of the March 13, 2010, attack were undisputed in court. Le, then 20, and Anderson had spent the night drinking vodka and snorting lines of cocaine before a volatile argument over a cellphone charger broke out in the bedroom. As Anderson tried to flee her Citrus Heights apartment, Le chased her down, butcher knife in hand. She sank it into her lover's back and then, when Anderson had collapsed on the ground, into her chest, arms and neck. Deputy District Attorney Anthony Ortiz promised a short, straightforward trial with gruesome evidence, some of which he flashed on a projector during his opening statement. He said the evidence would leave no doubt in jurors' minds that Anderson was "brutally murdered without any just reason at all." As a preview, Ortiz played for the jury clips of the videotaped statement Le gave to a Citrus Heights detective shortly after the attack. In one clip, she claims "everything would have been peaceful" if Anderson had just handed over the cellphone charger; in another, she said Anderson "didn't really put up a fight." "She started running away from me, and that's when it happened," she said in yet another segment, referring to the stabbing. "I was just really pissed." Ortiz described for the jury a frantic call Anderson had made to her mother six months earlier, in which the tearful young woman said her girlfriend had blindly attacked her, blackening her eye and bruising her arm. He showed photos a Citrus Heights police officer had taken of her injuries. Other snapshots Ortiz displayed for the jury included post-mortem pictures of Anderson's carved-up body, one of them eliciting an audible gasp from a relative in the audience. More evidence would show the "pettiness" and "ridiculousness" of the crime, Ortiz said. "Ultimately you'll hear about several decisions made that day – a decision to kill, a decision to chase her down, a decision to stab her multiple times in the back," Ortiz said. "You're going to be left with the feeling, 'This is ridiculous.' " Public Defender Sandra Di Giulio sought to build sympathy for her client, going back to Le's troubled childhood as one of 10 children raised by Vietnamese refugees in a cramped south Sacramento home. Child Protective Services came to investigate allegations of abuse and endangerment on several occasions, Di Giulio said, but the children had been taught not to talk to them. She described a 16-year-old Le who hooked up with the wrong guy, one responsible for getting her addicted to drugs. Finally, at a group home for women, Le began to get her life in order, only to get aged out of the system. Di Giulio said Le fell hard for Anderson, "looked up to (her) … this pretty, older girl who seemed to have everything." She described their relationship as young love, "troubled" and "passionate." "She loved Monica Anderson so much, but on March 13, 2010, when Lan was just 20 years old, she did something while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine and emotion that she is never ever going to be able to take back," Di Giulio said. She described her client lying down next to Anderson's lifeless body and turning the knife on herself, cutting herself as she had done as a troubled teen, until a friend of Anderson's took the knife from her hands and detained her until police arrived. After reviewing the evidence, Di Giulio told jurors, "you're going to understand why this was a crime of passion, a crime that can only happen when a person like Le has such intense feelings for somebody else." "It wasn't this deliberate, thought-out, planned, premeditated … murder," Di Giulio said. Murder trial begins for woman accused of stabbing lover 91 times in 2010 The Sacramento Bee July 31, 2012 There was no question in Dept. 17 this morning of who killed Monica Anderson. Instead, attorneys in the Sacramento Superior courtroom debated in their opening statements whether Lan Anh Le stabbed her 26-year-old lover in a premeditated, calculated attack on March 13, 2010 or in a fit of passion. Deputy District Attorney Anthony Ortiz warned jurors that they would see gruesome evidence during the trial, but argued that the case is a "straightforward" murder case. Le, now 22, stabbed her girlfriend 91 times, proof of "the viciousness of the attack," Ortiz said. "When you see the evidence, you'll come to no different conclusion - this was a murder," Ortiz said. Le's public defender, Sandra Di Giulio, argued instead that her client acted that morning in the heat of passion, fueled by vodka, cocaine, jealousy and rage. "She did something while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine and emotion that she is never ever going to be able to take back," Di Giulio told the jury. After reviewing the evidence, she said, "you're going to understand why this was a crime of passion, a crime that can only happen when a person like Lan has such intense feelings for somebody else." Twenty years old at the time, Le fatally stabbed Anderson after a night of partying that ended with a fight between the two women in the victim's Citrus Heights apartment. The women were fighting over a cell phone charger. Lan Anh Le Of Citrus Heights kills another woman during brawl News10.net March 13, 2010 A violent struggle between two women ended in a fatal stabbing at a Citrus Heights apartment complex early Saturday morning, according to authorities. The fight between the two adult women was reported around 2:30 a.m. at the complex at 7683 Greenback Lane, Citrus Heights Police Sgt. Lee Herrington said. Herrington said the two women knew each other and it was not immediately clear what sparked the altercation in the complex common area. The other woman, 20-year-old Lan Anh Le, was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and arrested on murder charges. Lan Anh Le The victim Monica Anne Anderson, 26.

Arroyo said: “I still don't have my daughter back.”

Outcome

A jury convicted Le of first-degree murder in the March 2010 stabbing of Monica Anderson.

Le received a sentence of 25 years to life in prison on October 5, 2012.

Other details

Le and Anderson were described as romantically involved by attorneys.

Arroyo told The Bee that her daughter always denied that.