Police seek help in matriarch's death

02/02/2009
By Kelly Puente, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)

LONG BEACH - Authorities on Monday continued to search for a suspect in the slaying of a 76-year-old grandmother.

Leam Sovanasy was stabbed multiple times in her home in the 1400 block of Peterson Avenue, police said. A relative found her body at 11:04 a.m. Saturday.

Police said Monday that they have no new information and are asking for the public's help.

Relatives described Sovanasy as a survivor and Cambodian matriarch who kept the family together. She lost her husband and three children and fled Cambodia with her remaining seven children during the Khmer Rouge regime. Sovanasy and her family lived in a refugee camp in Vietnam before coming to the United States in the 1980s.

Sovanasy also experienced loss in Long Beach.

Her grandson, Sakorn Phan, was the city's first homicide victim of 2004, said Phan's brother, Danny Phan, 25.

Sakorn Phan was gunned down on Jan. 1, 2004, by gang member Reuel Dishon Hulbert, who killed three and injured two during a three-month shooting spree. Hulbert was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole.

Danny Phan said his grandmother took the news of her grandson's death hard.

"The family was depressed for a long time," he said.

The family was relieved last week with Hulbert's sentencing, Phan said. But now they are grieving another loss.

Funeral services for Sovanasy are pending, family members said.

Anyone with information on Sovanasy's death is urged to call LBPD Homicide Detectives Russ Moss or Teri Hubert at 562-570-7244.

kelly.puente@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1305

76-year-old stabbing victim well-known among Lao-Cambodians

February 2, 2009
Corina Knoll
Los Angeles Times (California, USA)

A 76-year-old woman stabbed to death in her Long Beach home was a well-known figure in the Cambodian and Laotian communities, her son said today.

The body of Leam Sovanasy, who lived with relatives in the 1400 block of Peterson Avenue, was discovered by a relative about 11 a.m. Saturday, police said. She had been stabbed multiple times in her upper body. Sovanasy was ethnically Laotian but born in Cambodia, said her son, who asked not to be named for legal reasons.

She arrived in the United States with seven children more than 20 years ago. Many other families from her village have since immigrated to Long Beach, forming what Sovanasy’s nephew, Sam Bunlot, called a local Lao-Cambodian community.

“Most of us, we know each other,” said Bunlot, 40. “She’s one of the elders, so she’s very popular.”

Grieving family members said they had no idea why Sovanasy, the grandmother of 25, would be attacked in her home. Investigators are trying to determine a motive for the killing, said Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Massacani.

“She devoted her life to Buddhism,” Bunlot said. “All she did was try to be a good person.”

Grandmother fatally stabbed in LB home

Family and community members gather at the home Leam Sovansy, who was found stabbed to death on Sunday. (Carlos Delgado /For The Press-Telegram)

02/01/2009
By Kelly Puente, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)

LONG BEACH - A 76-year-old mother of 10, described as the matriarch of her Cambodian family, was found stabbed to death in her Long Beach home, authorities said Sunday.

A family member discovered the body of Leam Sovanasy in her home in the 1400 block of Peterson Avenue at 11:04 a.m. Saturday, said Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Massacani.

Sovanasy had been stabbed multiple times, Massacani said. Police released few details Sunday and would not give information on a suspect or possible motive.

Dozens of family members descended upon Sovanasy's home in the heart of Cambodia Town, where she lived in a family compound. Sovanasy, her husband, Lek Lot, and a daughter shared one unit, while a son, another daughter and in-laws lived in three other units, family said.

While the family would not discuss details of the slaying, they were eager to talk about Sovanasy's life and her struggle to come to the United States.

"My mom was very inspiring. I can't believe she took care of us all," said youngest daughter Val Tubaces, 37. "She kept us together, and I love her for that."

Sovanasy is originally of Laotian descent but was born in Cambodia. Three of her children are deceased as is her first husband, who died of malaria, her daughter said.

At the height of the bloody Khmer Rouge regime, the widow fled with her surviving seven children to a refugee camp in Vietnam. They eventually made it to the United States, and lived in Carson and Norwalk before settling in Long Beach in the late 1980s.

A survivor of wars and loss, Sovanasy stressed the importance of keeping family together and appreciating the opportunities available in the United States.

"She taught us to appreciate everything we have here," said her great-nephew, Lunong Si.

The grandmother of 25 was a devout Buddhist and well-known member in the Long Beach Cambodian community, but she also adopted some classic American traits.

"She was a huge Lakers fan," said grandson Thom Phan, 33.

Phan said his grandmother was released from the hospital three days ago, after being admitted for high blood pressure. The family had been planning a barbecue Saturday to celebrate her homecoming.

Si said family from France and Canada are now traveling to Long Beach for the memorial service. In hard times, Cambodian-Laotian families traditionally come together, giving money, food or anything else needed, he said.

"We always come together in a time like this," he said.

Anyone with any information is urged to call LBPD Homicide Detectives Russ Moss or Teri Hubert at 562-570-7244.

kelly.puente@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1305