The Murder of Linda Park
For this case, I watched an episode of Never Say Goodbye. It’s season 1 episode 4, titled ‘Cruel and Unusual.’
An 18-year-old girl is found dead in her home.
Background
Linda Park lived in Irvine, California, with her dad, mom, and older sister. Linda’s parents had emigrated from Korea in the 1970’s, but they moved to California for a better life.
At the time of her death, Linda was a student at Irvine Valley Community College, but wanted to transfer to Cal-State Fullerton, where her sister Janie attended.
Linda was described as very responsible, sweet, and caring.
Linda Park
A Horrific Discovery
November 9, 1995, was a normal day for the Park family. Each member had their own routine. Sunny, Linda’s dad, left early for his furniture upholstery business. Linda and Janie woke up, and went to school, and their mom went to work at the U.S. Post Office later in the day.
After her classes, Linda returned home. Linda called her dad, and asked when he would be home. Sunny said he’d be home in the next hour, but soon called back to tell Linda he’d be late. Sunny became concerned when Linda didn’t answer the phone.
Around 8pm, Sunny arrived home. He said Linda usually opened the door for him, but he unlocked the door, and immediately saw Linda on the floor.
Linda was lying on the living room floor, and lying in a pool of blood. She was hogtied, and her throat had been cut. A cord had been wrapped around her neck. Sunny called the Irvine police department.
The Investigation
Around 10pm, Janie arrived home from school. She saw the police cars, yellow crime scene tape, and her devastated father.
The police asked Janie if she’d be willing to go through the house to see if anything was missing. Janie agreed. In the living room, their mom’s jewelry boxes had been emptied out, and Sunny’s jacket, where he usually kept some extra cash, was lying on the ground.
There were no signs of forced entry. The police collected the ligatures, hoping that the killer had left behind their DNA.
Possible Suspects
The Park family was interviewed. They truly had no idea why this would have happened to Linda.
The police did learn from the family that Linda had a friend from college, who was known to hangout with a rough crowd. The friend was only 18, but had a baby, and a boyfriend with a criminal history.
The police went to interview this friend, and her boyfriend. They denied being involved, and their alibis checked out.
A week after Linda’s death, an anonymous caller revealed several names of four teenagers, who went to school in Tustin. Tustin was also the area where Sunny’s upholstery business was located.
The police learned from the anonymous caller that they had seen the four teenagers on the day of the murder, driving past the Park house several times. However, the four teenagers were eventually ruled out. They had been in the area that day, but had been visiting a relative.
Two months after the murder, the police looked into the possibility that Linda was killed by gang members. In the 1990’s, there was a rise of Asian gangs in the area. Many families were known to keep jewelry, and cash around their homes.
The police reached out to the gang unit, and unfortunately, it didn’t lead to anything. Linda’s case went cold.
The Informant
Linda’s family went to the police constantly asking for any updates. They put up posters, and put up a $20,000 reward for any information.
It wasn’t until 2001, when an informant came forward. He said that his cellmate had bragged about killing Linda.
The informant provided two names: Ronald Tran and Noel Plata. They were both known to be gang members. They had spent time in prison after the murder on unrelated charges. Noel was the one who had been in prison, and had bragged about killing Linda. Ronald was out on parole in 2001, after serving time for a burglary.
The informant agreed to secretly record both Ronald and Noel. Ron said that the crime wasn’t worth it, and that they didn’t get as much as they thought they would.
In Noel’s confession, he admitted that during the struggle, he knocked over a cactus. Inside the Park home, there were several small cacti in the living room, and one had been knocked over.
The DNA from the ligatures also came back as a match to Ronald Tran.
In 2001, Tran and Plata were charged with murder.
Noel Plata
Ronald Tran
The Connection
The police also learned that Linda and Ronald had both attended the same college, and that Linda was friends with Ronald’s girlfriend Joanne.
Ronald had spoken about Joanne in his confession to the informant. Joanne went to the police, and told them she’d tell them everything, and was granted immunity.
Joanne knew the Park family, and was the younger sister of a friend of Janie’s. Joanne had been over to the Park’s, and knew that Sunny kept jewelry, and extra cash around the home.
On November 9, Joanne loaned her car to Ronald and Noel. She was the one who suggested the robbery.
It’s believed that Linda had let Ronald and Noel in, because she knew Ronald from school. They then tied her up, and demanded the jewelry, and cash. They were expecting more, so they tortured and killed Linda.
Linda had been tied up, stabbed in the throat, and strangled with a cord.
The Convictions
In October 2007, Ronald and Noel were both found guilty of murder with special circumstances of robbery and torture. They were both sentenced to death.
Other
Noel Plata died in his prison cell at San Quentin Prison, at age 45.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My heart broke when listening to Sunny Park talk about finding his daughter that day in 1995. He blamed himself for not being there that day. He has no reason to blame himself. The only people who should blame themselves are Joanne, and Ronald. Noel too, but, he’s now dead.
This didn’t have to happen. Linda was only 18 years old, and probably trusted Joanne. She had the rest of her life ahead of her, and it was taken away because of greed.
Sources
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-mar-02-me-32390-story.html
https://www.ocregister.com/2007/11/05/two-get-death-in-torture-killing-2/
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna26235836
