BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Update: The Bexar County Medical Examiner has identified a man and a woman who were killed after a murder-suicide in west Bexar County on Tuesday.
Authorities say Thuy Nguyen, 28, died of multiple sharp force injuries, believed to be caused by Kevin Lam, 33. Lam died as a result of a self-inflicted stab wound to the neck, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Original Story:
A woman and man are dead, and a baby is safe in Child Protective Services custody after a murder-suicide in west Bexar County, according to Sheriff Javier Salazar.
“There were some pretty grave injuries, I mean, among the worst I’ve ever seen,” Sheriff Salazar said.
Dispatchers received a 911 call Tuesday afternoon from a man in his 30s who said he had killed a woman in her 30s and would kill himself next, Salazar said. Deputies were dispatched to the 14000 block of Potranco Road to an apartment complex to handle the 911 call.
“Our dispatcher did a great job of getting deputies dispatched while simultaneously keeping the suspect on the phone, trying to talk him down,” he said.
Salazar said deputies were close by and answered the call in about three minutes. When they arrived at one of the apartments, the door was locked, and someone inside unlocked it, letting them in.
When two deputies made entry, they saw a woman on the floor with stab wounds and a man a few feet away attempting to kill himself with a large knife, the sheriff said. The two deputies tried to talk him down, and then a third deputy came in, saw the baby in a high chair watching cartoons during the commotion, and rescued her. Salazar said the baby was 6 to 7 months old. It’s unclear what her connection was to the woman and man, but the sheriff believes they may have been her parents.
A fourth deputy came in, and the man stabbed himself in the upper body and neck, Salazar said. At which point, the last deputy to go in attempted to shock the man with a Taser.
After the man stabbed himself, the deputies attempted first aid to save the man’s life. However, Salazar said the man and woman both died at the scene. It’s believed the woman was dead before the deputies had arrived.
“It’s just a horrible situation all around, you know, just in an instant that child became parentless,” said Yolanda Valenzuela, the executive director of Kim’s Angels and long-time anti-child abuse advocate.
Salazar said Child Protective Services has taken the child into their custody, and they would attempt to locate family members of the baby.
Valenzuela said even though the child is very young, this can have a lasting impact.
“When this child gets in high school, or even as an adult, they can face some serious emotional issues connected to this type of trauma that occurred,” Valenzuela said.
She said, “Their behaviors and because what he chose to do, (the child) could suffer the rest of her life due to that trauma and due to that loss is extremely, extremely sad.”
The deputies involved will be placed on five days of administrative leave and will undergo evaluations with a psychologist, according to Salazar.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as they become available.
