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Criminal Records - Most Wanted |
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Profile |
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Name: Unknown Hiep Nguyen Killer
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Wanted for :
Homicide, Jacksonville, FL;
Jun 22, 2004
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Location(s) |
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Last Seen : Jacksonville, FL |
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Possible Location : Jacksonville, FL |
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Last Known : Unkown |
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Traits |
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Case Story |
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A Son's Dream Turns Into A Family's Nightmare |
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My son Hiep Nguyen was only 31 years old when he was found dead on the floor of his dream business, Boba Coffee Shop, on June 23, 2004. I write this letter with all my heart to you. Please help my family find the killer for my son so he can die in peace.
Kim Tran was proud of her youngest son, Hiep. He had taken lemons and turned them into lemon-flavored bubble tea when he opened his Boba Coffee Shop. But just when the shop was about to get the public attention it needed, there was a sudden change of focus. The cameras were no longer interested in bubble tea. The spotlight was on murder - and Hiep was the star of the show.
Hiep Nguyen moved from Vietnam with his family to Ontario, Canada. After he graduated from Ottawa University with a degree in computer analysis, he moved by himself to Louisville, Ky., and then to Jacksonville, Fla. He worked as a computer analyst at a hotel in Jacksonville until he was laid off in 2003. Instead of getting discouraged, Hiep saw an opportunity to make the dream of owning his own business come true. He met Jonathan Gillis, a computer technician who had also been laid off, and discovered a shared love for Boba tea. Boba, or "bubble tea," is very popular in Asia and California, and made by combining fruit flavoring, ice, tea, and tapioca balls that can be sucked through a large straw and chewed. The two men decided to introduce Boba to Jacksonville by opening their own store- the Boba Coffee Shop.
Before the shop opened, he worked very hard 6:00 a.m. to midnight to paint and do the floor, and to build counters. At last, the coffee shop opened on December 1, 2003. It was my birthday, he loved me so much and thought that was his lucky day. |
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Boba Bubble Bursts |
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Patrons described the Boba Coffee Shop as a comfy place to hang out. Asian lampshades hung from the ceilings, large bamboo fans adorned the walls, and checkerboards, cards, and other games sat invitingly on small tables that were scattered throughout the store. On the evening of June 22, 2004, Boba employee Joseph Cummings said Hiep was busily preparing his coffee shop for a live camera interview. The shop was going to be featured in a segment for "Stoppin' By" on WJXT TV4 early the next morning. Joseph helped Hiep clean up, and closed the shop around 10:00 p.m. When he left at 10:30 p.m., Joseph said Hiep was in the locked coffee shop speaking in Vietnamese to someone on the telephone.
The next morning at around 6, the television crew arrived at the Boba Coffee Shop, but found the shop locked and Hiep nowhere to be found. A member of the crew called Hiep's business partner, Jonathan, who hurried to the shop to let them in. But when Jonathan entered the unlit shop, he found Hiep's lifeless body behind the counter in the storage room. He walked back outside in tears. "He's dead." One of the crew members followed Jonathan back into the shop and saw Hiep's body. He said that Jonathan then sat in silence as police were called. Hiep's roommate and friends were immediately notified of the murder and came to the shop crying and in shock. |
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"I Still See His Painful Face..." |
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Since that day, my life and that of my entire family has been upside-down. I don't want to go anywhere or see my friends because whenever I go and see their happy families, it reminds me a lot about my son...Whenever I go or do something I still see his painful face with his eyes open, his swollen lips, black mark around his neck...
According to police, Hiep Nguyen had been strangled. Police also found that money was missing from the cash register, and someone had broken into the business safe. While the missing money would indicate a robbery, police found no forced entry into the shop, and Hiep's car was still parked in the same spot where he left it the previous evening. There was one unusual clue -- a shoe that police found next to Hiep's body. At this time police aren't ruling out any suspects, but hope that a $50,000 reward will encourage people with information to come forward.
I don't want to go to the mall because everytime I go and see a young man the same age as Hiep, it breaks my heart. I still wait for his phone call usually about 10:00 in the morning, and 11:00 at night everyday. Every night before I go to sleep, I still phone him because I love to hear his warm voice on his cell phone.
Every day when I feel very, very down, I cry and ask, "Hiep! Please help Mom to stand up." I feel he wraps his arm around my shoulder and comforts me. "Mommy, I will be always with you. Don't cry, Mommy." |
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