A long-running Plymouth murder case is back in the spotlight after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents with the Boston field office arrested Khambor Phouthongseng, a Laotian national convicted in a 1990 homicide, in the Boston area on Monday, according to court and agency records.
Phouthongseng was one of three people convicted in the killing of Daravanh Phachansiri after a birthday party in Plymouth, a case that has generated years of trials, appeals and parole hearings. He is now in ICE custody and will face immigration proceedings.
ICE publicly announced the arrest, and local reporting filled in details about his criminal and immigration record. According to the Boston Herald, ICE said Phouthongseng's record includes convictions for second‑degree murder and kidnapping and that he had previously been ordered removed from the United States.
Conviction and case details
Phouthongseng was tried with two others in the 1990 killing, and a jury found them guilty of second‑degree murder and kidnapping after a 15‑day trial in May 1991. The appeals‑court opinion recounts eyewitness testimony and forensic findings that the victim suffered manual strangulation and blunt‑force trauma and was found injured near a gas station after what witnesses described as a violent struggle. Those findings are outlined by the Mass. Appeals Court.
Parole and immigration history
State parole records and life‑sentence decisions show Phouthongseng has long been on the parole board's docket. Per the Massachusetts Parole Board, a life‑sentence decision in his name appears on the state's list of life‑sentence records and related documents.
The Boston Herald reported that he was paroled and placed into ICE custody in 2006, paroled again in 2009 and had parole revoked in 2012, underscoring how his criminal and immigration cases have repeatedly intersected.
ICE enforcement and co-defendant arrests
According to ICE's public listings, Phouthongseng is not the only person from the 1990 case to draw the agency's attention. The records show that Souvanheuang Phachansiri, one of the co‑defendants, was arrested by ICE Boston in September 2025.
ICE's published materials and field‑office posts also describe broader enforcement activity in Massachusetts that has targeted people with serious criminal convictions. See ICE for more details on related arrests.
Local context
The timing of the arrest comes just days after Mayor Michelle Wu signed an executive order aimed at restricting ICE's use of city property and directing local departments to prepare for heightened federal enforcement. City officials said the order is meant to protect residents and ensure oversight of any federal activity, and it has sharpened debate over how local and federal authorities should interact.
As reported by Boston.com, the order details steps for documenting and reviewing encounters with federal agents, effectively putting a spotlight on every future ICE move in the city.
Legal note
Phouthongseng's arrest returns him to federal immigration custody after years of criminal and parole proceedings. From here he will be held for immigration hearings and potential removal. Because he remains subject to a prior removal order and has a documented life‑sentence record, his case will proceed through immigration channels while the criminal record remains part of the public court docket.
Records from the Mass. Appeals Court and the Parole Board remain the primary public sources for the underlying conviction and sentence, while ICE's field‑office accounts provide updates on enforcement activity. We will monitor official filings and update this story as new records or statements become available.
