Long Nguyen, a 51-year-old Vietnamese man, was found dead on October 5, 2022, in Houston, Texas. His death was a result of a violent incident that shocked the local community. Nguyen was discovered in his apartment, bound and gagged, with signs of a struggle evident throughout the residence. The cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation, as he had duct tape wrapped around his mouth and nose.
The apartment appeared to have been ransacked, with several items missing, although nothing of significant value was reported stolen.
The investigation into Nguyen's death revealed a complex and sinister plot. Authorities initially struggled to find leads, but a breakthrough came when DNA evidence from the crime scene matched a profile in the national database. This led to the arrest of Willie Guillory, a 20-year-old man who had previously been arrested for an unrelated crime. Guillory's DNA was found on a marijuana joint left at the scene, which ultimately connected him to the murder.
Further investigation uncovered that Nguyen's death was part of a murder-for-hire scheme orchestrated by Dephne Wright, a so-called spiritual advisor. Wright had been hired by Nguyen's son-in-law, Chau Tran, who believed that Nguyen's business was cursed and sought Wright's help to remove the curse. Over time, Tran accumulated a debt of $280,000 to Wright, which he was unable to repay. Wright then learned about Nguyen's substantial life insurance policy, with Tran as the beneficiary, and devised a plan to have Nguyen killed to collect the insurance money.
Wright enlisted the help of Bobby Guillory, Willie's uncle, to carry out the murder. On the night of the crime, Bobby and Willie broke into Nguyen's apartment, bound and gagged him, and suffocated him to death. They left behind drug paraphernalia to mislead the authorities. The case remained unsolved for several years until the DNA match led to the arrests of Willie and Bobby Guillory. Both men were convicted of their roles in the murder, with Bobby receiving a life sentence and Willie being sentenced to 20 years in prison. Dephne Wright was also convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Chau Tran, although suspected of being involved in the plot, was not prosecuted.
