Dad kills 4 Kids by Throwing Them Off a Bridge

Bayou La Batre, AL - A day after reporting his four young children were missing, a shrimp fisherman broke down and confessed that he threw them off an 80-foot-high bridge to their deaths, authorities said Wednesday.

Lam Luong, 37, was charged with four counts of capital murder, and divers searched the murky waters for the bodies of the youngsters, who ranged in age from a few months to 3 years.

Luong had a drug habit and had argued with his wife, Ngoc Phan, before taking the children, said Phan's brother-in-law, Kam Phengsisomboun.

Authorities said they believe Luong then drove on Monday to the two-lane Dauphin Island bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway, stopped at the highest part of the span and threw the youngsters over the side.

Luong and his wife reported the children missing Monday. He initially told police that he had given the kids to his girlfriend and that she failed to return them, investigators and family members said.

But authorities said they found holes in his account, and he later changed his story.

Missing and presumed dead were 4-month-old Danny Luong; 1-year-old Lindsey Luong; 2-year-old Hannah Luong; and 3-year-old Ryan Phan. Phan is not the man's biological child, but Luong raised him from infancy, authorities said.

. . . .

Behind his gaze, authorities say Luong is a monster. Luong got a speeding ticket. Court records say he was traveling 80 mph in a 65 mph zone. He's battled cocaine. Authorities say he's also had drug charges out of Biloxi.

Despite those activities, however, neighbors say they never would have imagined Luong doing something so sinister as murdering his four children. For example, Ruth Bryant said, "That's a sad thing to say about our neighborhood. We just didn't know."

Even those close to Luong didn't know. "I was proud of him before he used to do drugs. He got out of it. I was happy, I was like, he's a great daddy, make good money, take care of the family," said Kam Phengsisonboun, a relative of Luong's common-law wife.

When the murder charges surfaced, so did accusations of domestic violence. Family members say Luong's wife started talking, they just wish she would have done it sooner.

Commentary: The bodies of 2 of the 4 have now been found - Danny Luong, 4 months old and Ryan Phan, 3 years. The bodies of Lindsey and Hannah are still missing.

Also, while I appreciate that family members "just wish" she had spoken up about the abuse sooner, the fact that he killed 4 kids and even *her* relatives will still refer to him as "a great daddy" who "make good money, take care of the family" really offends me. If they all hadn't been so supportive of him, maybe she would have asked for help.

Related links
Dad threw 4 tots off bridge after fight, police say
2nd body found in Ala. search for 4 kids
Lam Luong's Family Life