For fatally stabbing a semi-retired Cal State Fullerton administrator in 2019, a 55-year-old man entered a guilty plea this week and was promptly given a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Guilty Plea in CSU Fullerton Official’s Murder and Embezzlement Case
Murder and grand theft by embezzlement were charges that Chuyen Van Vo admitted guilt to. and acknowledged receiving longer sentences for using a dangerous weapon for personal purposes and for laying in wait to kill. An unusual circumstance accusation of killing for money was dropped.
On August 19, 2019, at about 8:30 in the morning, Vo killed 57-year-old Steven Shek Keung Chan of Hacienda Heights in a university parking lot.
The reason for the crime was that Vo had submitted phony invoices for a tutoring business and stole $206,000 from the university. on the basis of testimony given at a preliminary hearing. He feared Chan was about to figure out the scam.
Vo’s lawyer, Ed Welbourn, claimed that his client wanted to avoid a trial for both his family and Chan’s family.
“He wanted to spare the victim’s family and his family the pain and continued suffering of this incident, including a trial,” Welbourn said to City News Service. He wanted to confess since he believed he knew what he had done. He regrets what he done deeply and wished to alleviate the family’s misery.
Construction Worker Witnesses Violent Confrontation Leading to Murder Investigation
A building worker in the 2600 Nutwood Ave. parking lot. On the morning of the murder, he overheard a loud ruckus behind him as he was on the phone with his boss. He witnessed the defendant and victim face to face. Police stated that the suspect seemed to punch the victim repeatedly.
As the construction worker confronted Vo, the police claim that Vo pushed Chan back into his Infiniti and fled the scene.
At the crime site, police discovered the defendant’s backpack. According to the authorities, it was filled with zip ties, an explosive device, a wig, gloves, a watch, a handwritten letter, a sun shade, and a knife. According to police, the note was penned on a piece of paper that also had a phone number for the defendant’s Westminster tax preparation firm.
Chan had retired, but according to police testimony, he was summoned back on a part-time basis to look into billing problems at the institution and the staff’s pursuit of Vo’s con. In the past, Chan oversaw Vo in the same office’s admissions department for international students.
