Bobby Tran, also known as Ouhan Chen, a 49-year-old inmate currently serving a 30-year sentence for the gruesome 1999 murder and dismemberment of a 24-year-old woman, has been denied parole, the San Mateo County District Attorney announced. Tran, who pleaded guilty in 2006, was involved in a debt dispute with the victim that ended with her tragic demise.
Reports from the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office detail that Tran's criminal past is dangerously persisting behind bars, reflecting on the severity of his actions almost 25 years ago. Tran's case had a significant twist when the dismembered body of a San Francisco woman, Xiu Jiang, was found in a Daly City storage locker in 2002. In a deeply unsettling revelation, the body was discovered only after the rent on the locker went unpaid for two months, prompting an employee to open it and uncover the grisly contents.
Bobby Tran aka Ouhan Chen (49) was denied parole & will continue serving his 30 year sentence, pleading guilty in 2006 to the murder and dismemberment of a 24 year old woman in January of 1999 following a dispute over a debt. pic.twitter.com/wT8IZJy8Zg
— San Mateo County District Attorney (@SanMateoCoDA) June 7, 2024
Originally serving a sentence for an unrelated burglary charge, Daly City police linked Tran to Jiang's death after a comprehensive investigation led by Detectives Gregg Oglesby and Dave Boffi. According to the SFGATE, Jiang, missing for two years before the discovery, suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Tran was charged with murder. Subsequent police investigations revealed that Tran and Jiang were acquainted, although authorities clarified that they were not romantically involved.
Jiang, who worked in San Francisco massage parlors, was facing potential deportation and, as friends confirmed, sought to pay someone to marry her to stay in the country. She was reported missing in January 1999 after not being seen following a police raid on the massage parlor where she worked. "The conduct, particularly the manner of dismembering the body, conveys an evilness that is atypical of the average homicide case we deal with," San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe described. His comments, as per the SFGATE, underscore the particularly heinous nature of the crime.
Given the gravity of his crimes, Tran's continued incarceration, marked by the recent parole denial, seems to resonate with the community's sense of justice. Meanwhile, the legacy of Tran's actions continues to cast a long shadow over the lives touched by his crimes, as the legal system echoes with the memories of a case that has proven to be anything but typical.
