Watch above: EPS Acting Deputy Chief Mark Neufeld shares the autopsy results of the eight mass murder victims in Edmonton, and describes a timeline of events.
EDMONTON — It was a series of criminal events Edmonton police now say spanned more than 48 hours. One of Edmonton’s largest mass murders resulted in eight people being shot to death and one man, the lone suspect, dead by suicide.
The crime spree involved three locations: a home in north Edmonton’s Lakeview neighbourhood, a home in the southwest neighbourhood of Haddow and a Vietnamese restaurant in Fort Saskatchewan.
“It is a tragic day for Edmonton,” EPS chief Rod Knecht said Tuesday. “Our thoughts go out to the community as we all come to terms with the senseless mass murder of eight people: four female adults, two male adults, and two young children – one male and one female.”
The victims have since been identified as Thuy Tien Truong, 35, Thanh Ha Thi Truong, 33, Thi Dau Le, 55, Van Dang Truong, 55, Viet Nguyen, 41, Cyndi Duong, 37, Elvis Lam, 8, and Valentina Nguyen, 3.
The man responsible for the murders has been identified as 53-year-old Phu Lam, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police say he was the partner of Thuy Tien Truong.
READ MORE: Edmonton mass murder victims included lone suspect’s partner and her family
Here’s a timeline of events:
Sunday, Dec. 28
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2 a.m. – Police said Tien Truong finished work.
3:45 a.m. – Ha Truong, Tien Truong’s sister, was in communication with another person via text message from the north Edmonton home.
3:45 a.m. – 8 a.m. – Police believe the murders of seven people inside the Lakeview home occurred sometime in this time frame. Investigators believe all seven were murdered at approximately the same time, although it’s not clear if they were all in the house when the killings began.
8 a.m. – Tien Truong and her mother, Thi Dau Le, failed to show up for an overtime shift at their place of work.
8:30 p.m. – Ha Truong’s estranged husband attended the north Edmonton home and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Police said the estranged husband noticed that a black SUV, which was later determined to be the vehicle the suspect was driving, was parked outside the home at the time.
Monday, Dec. 29
9:45 a.m. – The black SUV was seen at the north Edmonton home but was not there a few minutes later, a witness told police.
10 a.m. – Phu Lam dropped off two young children, a one-year-old and an eight-month-old, at an adult relative’s home in north Edmonton. The one-year-old is believed to be the daughter of Phu Lam and Tien Truong. The eight-month-old is the son of Ha Truong, police said.
Phu Lam’s activities up until Monday afternoon are not known, but police have determined he attended an address in southwest Edmonton late Monday afternoon. Police said relatives live in the home he visited.
Shortly after 6 p.m. – Phu Lam left the relative’s residence in southwest Edmonton. Police said the home was a 12-minute drive from Cyndi Duong’s home in Haddow.
6:52 p.m. – Police were called to a weapons complaint at Cyndi Duong’s residence near Haswell Court and 16 Avenue in southwest Edmonton. Cyndi Duong was found dead inside the home when police arrived.
8:28 p.m. – Police were called by someone in the home where Phu Lam dropped off two children Monday morning to express concerns about Phu Lam. The family member told police he seemed depressed, overly emotional and they were concerned he might be suicidal. Officers arrived at the Lakeview home, near 83 Street and 180 Avenue, but didn’t find Phu Lam. There was no response and “nothing suspicious was noted at the residence.”
Tuesday, Dec. 30
12:23 a.m. – Police returned to the north-end home after “further information was received.” They went inside and found seven people dead – three women, two men, and two children.
2:20 a.m. – EPS responded to Fort Saskatchewan, where the black SUV Phu Lam was driving was found.
8:45 a.m. – RCMP established that a man found dead inside the restaurant, Phu Lam, died from “an apparent suicide.”
3:30 p.m. – Edmonton police held a news conference to provide details on the eight murders and one suicide. They said they were not looking for any additional suspects.
9:15 p.m. – Police chief Rod Knecht provided an update on the investigation, confirming the weapon used in the murders was a stolen 9 mm handgun, the victim of the southwest homicide was 37-year-old Cyndi Duong, and that the male suspect had a history with police and had been charged with offences relating to domestic violence and sexual assault.
Wednesday, Dec. 31
1:15 p.m. – Sources confirmed to Global News that the man responsible for one of the largest mass murders in Edmonton’s history was 53-year-old Phu Lam. According to land titles, the Lakeview home is owned by Lam and Tien Truong.
Thursday, Jan. 1
11:38 a.m. – Global News learned that 37-year-old Cyndi Duong was not Phu Lam’s intended target. Police later revealed that Lam did not go to the woman’s home by accident, though.
“He went there in order to locate somebody he believed would be there at the time. That person was not present in the residence at the time and subsequently Cyndi Duong was shot,” Acting Deputy Chief Mark Neufel said Friday.
Friday, Jan. 2
11 a.m. – Global News obtained court documents which revealed Phu Lam previously threatened to kill his family. The documents also outlined a list of previous charges against Phu Lam.
3 p.m. – Acting Deputy Chief Mark Neufeld held a news conference in Edmonton to confirm the identities of the murder victims.
*Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014. It was last updated at 5:12 p.m. MT Friday, Jan. 2, 2015.
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