Oberlin College professor and wife found fatally shot in home; son accused of murder

A beloved Oberlin College professor and his wife were fatally shot Wednesday in their Ohio home, police said. Her 31-year-old son was arrested for murder.

The body of Pipo Hieu Nguyen-Duy, 64, was found on the first floor of the couple’s home after police carried out a welfare check. His wife, Tran Thi Phong, 56, was found dead in an upstairs bedroom, according to a police incident report. Police said it appears both men were shot.

Police identified the suspect as Daniel Jones of Ashland, Oregon. At an arraignment Thursday, Jones asked the judge to use gender-neutral pronouns and said their names were Asia Nguyen-Duy.

The investigation began shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday, when Oberlin officers responded to the Oberlin College Conservatory parking lot for a report of a smoldering vehicle. The incident report states the silver Toyota sedan, which had Oregon license plates, had a closed window and a pipe protruding from the roof.

Nguyen-Duy’s son was identified as the owner of the vehicle, but he was not in the area. They were located two blocks away around 10:19 a.m. and taken into custody without incident, police said.

Based on the officers’ interaction with the son, police conducted a welfare check at the family’s home. Nguyen-Duy and Phong, the son’s stepmother, were found after police forced entry, according to the incident report.

The son was charged with six counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault and one count of tampering with evidence. An attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. A motive is unclear.

Asia Nguyen-Duy’s arraignment began when officers carried him into the courtroom in handcuffs and ankle restraints, NBC affiliate WKYC in Cleveland reported.

The prosecutor said ammunition was found in Asia Nguyen-Duy’s car. The prosecutor also said Asia Nguyen-Duy knocked on an Oberlin resident’s door and asked the woman to record a video to post online. In the video, Asia Nguyen-Duy said they were fleeing a cult and said, “everything I did was on my own and I take full responsibility for it,” according to the prosecutor.

Police were called to the scene for reports of a disheveled person and found Asia Nguyen-Duy with scratches on her face and injuries to her arm and hand, the prosecutor said. Asia Nguyen-Duy told police they had killed their family and gave them the address of the family’s home, according to the prosecutor. The weapon used in the shooting has not been found.

The judge set bail at $3 million, citing the egregious nature of the crime.

Asia Nguyen-Duy’s biological mother declined to comment, saying she was too upset.

Oberlin College remembers the elder Nguyen-Duy as a “beloved professor” of studio art and photography, who had taught at the school since 1998.

“During his years at Oberlin, he touched us all with his passion for photography,” college President Carmen Twillie Ambar said in a statement. She called him “a valuable colleague and a dynamic presence in the classroom and across campus.”

Nguyen-Duy was born in Hue, Vietnam, and immigrated to the United States as a political refugee, according to a biography posted on his website. He has received several awards and grants, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in photography, and his work has been exhibited in public collections in the United States, Europe and Asia, the website says.