Ngeun Thi Long, a 19-year-old woman of Laotian descent, tragically lost her life on May 13, 1984, in Tampa, Florida. She had recently moved to Florida from California and had quit her job at a nightclub to pursue studies in art and cinema at the University of South Florida. Her life was cut short by a serial killer, Bobby Joe Long, who terrorized the Tampa Bay area during the 1980s.
On the evening of May 13, 1984, two teenage boys discovered her body in a field near Interstate 75,
southeast of Tampa. The remains were severely decomposed, making identification difficult. She was found face down, her wrists loosely tied behind her back, and a noose draped around her neck. The medical examiner determined that she had been strangled and had suffered severe physical abuse before her death. Evidence suggested that she had been raped, and investigators found tire tracks at the scene, which later helped in the apprehension of her killer.
Bobby Joe Long, a notorious serial rapist and murderer, was responsible for the deaths of at least ten women in Florida, including Ngeun Thi Long. His crimes spanned an eight-month period in 1984, during which he kidnapped, raped, and murdered multiple young women. His modus operandi involved targeting women through classified ads, earning him the nickname 'The Classified Ad Rapist'. His reign of terror came to an end when one of his victims, Lisa McVey, managed to escape and provided crucial information to the police, leading to his arrest.
Long was convicted of multiple murders and sentenced to death. He was executed by lethal injection on May 23, 2019, bringing closure to the families of his victims. Ngeun Thi Long's tragic death remains a somber reminder of the dangers posed by violent criminals and the importance of justice for victims.
