In the quiet suburbs of Grand Rapids, Michigan, a grim discovery shattered the peace of a family. Aung Myint Tun, a 49-year-old Asian man, was found dead in his home on April 27, 2022. The tragic events began to unfold when his wife, who was in California at the time, received a deeply unsettling phone call from their 18-year-old son, Htet Walar Tun. He chillingly informed her that his father was 'dead and bloody in the basement.'
This prompted her to request a welfare check, which led deputies from the Kent County Sheriff's Office to the residence. There, in the basement, they found Aung Myint Tun with what appeared to be gunshot wounds to his head and chest. A subsequent autopsy would confirm that his death was a homicide caused by two gunshot wounds.
The investigation swiftly focused on Htet Walar Tun, who lived with his father. In a dramatic turn of events, as detectives were processing the crime scene, Htet Walar Tun drove up to the house. When officers approached his vehicle, he refused to get out. The situation escalated when detectives spotted an assault-style weapon inside the car. A struggle ensued as they attempted to secure the firearm. During the confrontation, Htet Walar Tun fired a shot, injuring a detective's hand with the muzzle blast before being subdued and taken into custody.
Htet Walar Tun was charged with open murder for the death of his father, in addition to several other felonies related to the confrontation with law enforcement. These charges included discharge of a firearm from a vehicle causing injury, carrying a concealed weapon, and resisting an officer causing injury. In July 2023, the legal proceedings came to a close when Htet Walar Tun was sentenced to a lengthy prison term of 23 to 100 years for second-degree murder. He also received concurrent sentences for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for resisting and assaulting an officer.
