Oberlin Professor Pipo Nguyen-Duy and His Wife Shot Dead; His Son Is Charged

Oberlin College is mourning a professor of photography who was found shot to death in his home, and his son is being held on murder charges. Police say the killings appear to be domestic, and they say the public was never left in danger after the arrest. The suspect is due in court Thursday afternoon.

Oberlin Professor Pipo Nguyen-Duy and His Wife Shot Dead; His Son Is Charged

Oberlin, Ohio — Pipo Nguyen-Duy, a professor of studio art and photography at Oberlin College since 1998, was found dead Wednesday morning at a home on South Pleasant Street, and his son has been charged in the killings. Police say the investigation began with a smoking car in a college parking lot and ended with two bodies inside a house and a 31-year-old man in the Lorain County Jail. Daniel Jones, of Ashland, Oregon, faces six counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault and one count of tampering with evidence, according to Oberlin Municipal Court records reported by WKYC. He has not been convicted of any charge.

A Smoking Car in the Conservatory Lot

At 8:57 a.m. Wednesday, Oberlin police officers were sent to the Oberlin College Conservatory parking lot at 77 East College Street to help the Oberlin Fire Department with a vehicle that was smoking and possibly on fire, the department said. WOIO reported that the silver Toyota hatchback had a boarded-up window and a pipe sticking out of the roof. Firefighters forced their way in and found a wood stove type heater in the back seat and a makeshift chimney running out through the roof.

Police said the smouldering came from a cardboard box of miscellaneous items on the front seat. A suitcase and other personal effects were still inside, including the registered owner's wallet, passport and keys. Officers also found loose live ammunition rounds in the vehicle. Because of the suspicious circumstances, police set out to find the owner.

Ninety Minutes From a Fire to Two Bodies

The suspect was taken into custody without incident at about 10:19 a.m. in the 200 block of Shipherd Circle, police said. After talking to Jones, officers went to a home in the 30 block of South Pleasant Street to check on the welfare of his family members. At 10:27 a.m. officers forced entry and found the victims, WOIO reported. Other outlets give approximately 10:28 a.m. and the address 33 South Pleasant Street.

Nguyen-Duy was found on the first floor. The second victim was found on the second floor, and WOIO says his wife was in a second floor bedroom. Police said both suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The department described the killings as believed to be domestic in nature and said the detained man was the sole suspect, meaning there was no continuing danger to the public. Oberlin police asked the college to issue a shelter-in-place order, which was lifted once officers confirmed there was no danger to the campus or community. The investigation remains active.

Who Pipo Nguyen-Duy Was

Nguyen-Duy was 64. He taught studio art and photography at Oberlin for more than a quarter century, and his office was in the Venturi Art Building. This fall he was teaching Introduction to Black-and-White Photography and an Intermediate Photo Project Seminar. His awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2011, an En Foco Grant, a Professional Development Grant from the College Arts Association, a fellowship from the Oregon Arts Commission and three Individual Artists Fellowships from the Ohio Arts Council.

He was an artist-in-residence at Monet's Garden through The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Artists at Giverny Fellowship, at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, California, and in Light Work's Artist-in-Residence program in 2004. His work has been exhibited and is held in public collections in the United States, Europe, Asia and South America, and he was represented by Sam Lee Gallery in Los Angeles.

A Photographer Who Arrived as a Refugee

Nguyen-Duy was born in Hue, Vietnam, and immigrated to the United States as a political refugee in 1975, according to his faculty profile. As a teenager in Vietnam he competed as a national athlete in table tennis. During the mid-1980s he spent time living as a Buddhist monk in northern India. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics at Carleton College, then moved to New York City, where he worked as a bartender and later a nightclub manager.

While living in the East Village in the 1980s he met the musician Don Cherry and the artist Keith Haring, and his interests turned to art. He earned a master's degree in photography in 1992 and a Master of Fine Arts in photography in 1996, both from the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque. Oberlin President Carmen Twillie Ambar, in a message titled "Difficult News for Our Campus," called him "an internationally exhibited artist" who was "a cherished colleague and a vibrant presence in the classroom and throughout campus."

The Charges Against Daniel Jones

Jones, 31, was booked into the Lorain County Jail at 8:59 p.m. Wednesday, WOIO reported, and he remained there as of Thursday morning. Court records list six counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault and one count of tampering with evidence. The charges are allegations, and no plea has been entered. WOIO and WLWT report that the victims were Jones's father and stepmother; police have not publicly explained his relationship to them.

ABC News reported Wednesday that police had not disclosed why they initially arrested Jones and that charges were then pending. An earlier WKYC report said the first appearance was scheduled for Friday morning; court records now list Thursday at 2:15 p.m.

What the Record Does Not Yet Say

No motive has been publicly established. Police have said only that the killings are believed to be domestic in nature and that the investigation continues. No cause or manner of death has been released beyond the department's statement that both victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Jones has not been convicted, has not confessed and has not entered a plea.

A neighbour on Shipherd Circle, Greg Poirson, told WJW that Jones had tattoos on his forehead and face, appeared wet, dishevelled and nervous, jumped out of a neighbour's car and told him he was trying to escape a cult. That is Poirson's account of what he saw and was told. Police have not confirmed it.

An Age Two Sets of Reports Do Not Agree On

The second victim was identified in Thursday reporting as Thi Tran Phong, 56, by WOIO and WLWT. Outlets reporting on Wednesday, including ABC News, WKYC, News 5 Cleveland and the Morning Journal, described her as a 47-year-old woman and did not name her. Authorities have not publicly explained the discrepancy in the age.

WLWT reported that police say the victims were the father and stepmother of the suspect. Nguyen-Duy's age, 64, has been consistent across the college's statement and police accounts.

A Campus Open, and One Department Closed

Oberlin officials said most classes will proceed as usual Thursday, with the exception of Studio Art classes, the discipline Nguyen-Duy taught. The college said counselling professionals will be available "for the foreseeable future," and support services, including immediate opportunities, were linked in the president's message. Plans for a memorial have not yet been formulated, but officials said there will be opportunities for the campus to gather in remembrance.

Ambar wrote that police asked the college to issue the morning's shelter-in-place order, which was lifted once officers confirmed there was no danger. "Tragedies such as this one intrude upon our lives in jarring ways," she wrote. "I am simply overwhelmed with sadness, and I am deeply concerned about the impact of the devastating loss of Pipo to our community. Pipo was beloved."

Grief, in Their Own Words

Oberlin senior Mayim Richman told FOX8: "My stomach dropped, I started crying." She also said: "This is just the most awful thing to have happened. He is beloved by everybody here and has been teaching at the school for so long." Recent graduate Finn Sipes told FOX8 that the professor made a positive impact through his teaching and creative guidance, describing him as an incredibly creative person and photographer.

An unnamed woman told News 5 Cleveland: "He was just a nice person so I just don't understand how this could happen and I want to know what happened." Ambar wrote that the community "will be hurting for a very long time" and that "when the shock of this news subsides, we will all need to process our grief." She added: "In the days ahead, we will honor Pipo's life. Right now, my concern is for the well-being of our students, faculty, and staff."

The Courtroom at 2:15

Jones is scheduled to appear in Oberlin Municipal Court at 2:15 p.m. Thursday, according to court records cited by WKYC, with FOX8/WJW reporting the same time. An arraignment is a first appearance before a judge, and what happens there, and what Jones says, is not yet known.

Oberlin police say the case remains under investigation and that no motive has been publicly established. The department has described Jones as the sole suspect and has said there is no continuing danger to the public. The college, meanwhile, says it will gather in remembrance of a professor who taught there since 1998.

By Jessica Ali, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: Oberlin College, the Oberlin Police Department, WOIO/Cleveland 19, WKYC/3News, News 5 Cleveland, ABC News, FOX8/WJW, WLWT and The Morning Journal. Photographs: WEWS/News 5 Cleveland via ABC News (cover); Daderot, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; 3News/WKYC.