Who killed Linda Tran and her two kids?
Linda Tran and her children were killed in their home, then set on fire. The unresolved Northwestern team spoke to detectives and families looking for answers.
TACOMA, Wash. — In 1998, a pregnant mother and her two young children were beaten inside their Tacoma home, which was then set on fire.
Linda Tran’s family is still searching for answers about the murder more than 20 years later.
“Linda is absolutely amazing,” said her cousin, Hannah Scoccolo. “She came here as a little girl from Vietnam.”
Linda’s father, Kiet Tran remembers his daughter as a good person and treated people right.
“She is very cute. When she was born, I jumped and had my first baby girl, she was very cute,” said Mr. Kiet.
Linda’s family doesn’t know anyone who wants to hurt her.
“We talked a lot and she never once mentioned feeling threatened,” Scoccolo said.
Attack date
On December 18, 1998, Linda Tran, who was seven months pregnant at the time, and her two children, 1-year-old Austin and 9-year-old Patricia, were at her father’s house when she received a phone call.
Linda tells her cousin that she got a call from someone saying they have Christmas presents for her children and asks her to meet them at Linda’s house. She did not say who the caller was.
That was the last time her family saw her alive.
“Every time we talk about this topic or about Linda, we share happy thoughts but we know the end result is not there,” Scoccolo said. “We have no closures.”
When Linda and her children arrived at their home, someone lured them inside. The man was seen screaming outside with a baseball bat. A short time later, the house exploded and the person was seen fleeing into a getaway car.
The bat believed to have been used in the murder was recovered by detectives and sent for DNA testing but there were no clues from it.
Retired Tacoma police detective Bob Yerbury was called to the scene that night.
Yerbury said the scene was extensive, but unfortunately, the fire consumed most of the evidence.
“When I arrived, the fire was under control and there were all the paramedics, the police, it was a very chaotic scene and that added to the level of chaos for everything,” he said.
Yerbury described the explosion as “very violent.” It separated the roof from the interior walls and caused a large fire.
possible suspect
Detectives are still using this composite sketch and have ruled out several possible suspects.
They are also discovering what happened to Linda the night before she was murdered.
“She called me around 8pm that night and said the rear window was broken. At the time, we assumed it was an intentional burglary so we didn’t think much of it. “, Scoccolo said.
Detectives think it may be connected.
“Maybe someone wants to send a message or wait,” Yerbury said.
24 years later, the case is in the hands of a new detective. Julie Dier of the Tacoma Police Department thinks the case is solvable.
“Someone knows something. I believe this is no coincidence,” Dier said. “It’s down to someone to talk to.”
The Tran family is hoping someone can come forward to help them.
“I wish someone out there that knew please call the Tacoma police. Because my family is suffering because my daughter was murdered. Not only me but my wife, children, sister, niece is also hurting. suffering,” said Linda’s father.
The family has created a GoFundMe and the money will be used to settle the case. You can find it, here.
Cases of disappearances, murders, and other mysteries are all solvable. To submit a tip to the KING 5 Unsolved Northwest team, click here or fill out the form below.
https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/unsolved/1998-killing-pregnant-tacoma-woman-her-two-kids/281-72d31b8a-6002-4fe9-8263-1fd4bf5828e5 Who killed Linda Tran and her two kids?
