Dephne Wright

Summary

Snapped: Women Who Murder – Episode: Daphne Wright

Introduction

In this gripping episode of Snapped: Women Who Murder, Oxygen delves into the harrowing case of Daphne Wright, a spiritual advisor whose quest for financial gain led to the brutal murders of an elderly Vietnamese couple, Long Nguyen and Hong Lee, in Arlington, Texas. Over the course of the episode, listeners are taken through the intricate web of deceit, financial desperation, and supernatural manipulation that culminated in this heinous crime.

Background: The Nguyen Family’s American Dream

Long Nguyen and Hong Lee immigrated to the United States from Vietnam in 2000, bringing with them cherished traditions and aspirations for a prosperous future. Settling in Arlington, Texas, they established a commercial sewing business with the help of their son-in-law, Chow Tran.

“When Long and Hong arrived to Texas, they started a commercial sewing business. And they enlisted the help of their son-in-law Chow to help run it.” [10:00]

Despite initial successes, including lucrative contracts with major companies like Disney, the family’s business began to falter by 2011 after losing these significant contracts.

The Crime: A Violent Encounter

On June 10, 2012, Arlington police responded to a welfare check requested by Chow Tran, only to discover Long and Hong Lee brutally murdered in their own home. The victims were found hogtied with duct tape over their mouths and heads, surrounded by signs of a violent struggle.

Officer Weller recounts: “With my 14 years of experience, this is definitely the most gruesome, brutal scene I have ever seen.” [05:15]

The initial investigation pointed towards a possible robbery gone wrong, with ties to local Vietnamese gangs suggested by evidence like a blue bandana and a beer bottle left at the scene.

Detective Stewart states: “This was one of the worst I've seen.” [02:03]

Initial Investigation: Gang Involvement Theory

Arlington’s homicide detectives theorized that the murders might be linked to gang activity, given the presence of typical gang-associated items and the violent nature of the crime.

Detective Stewart remarks: “We theorized that it was staged.” [14:21]

However, the detectives remained skeptical, sensing that the crime was too meticulously planned to be a simple gang-related incident.

The Cold Case: Years Without Leads

Despite thorough investigations, including DNA and fingerprint analysis, no matches were found in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The case went cold, leaving investigators with limited leads and growing frustration.

Detective Stewart explains: “After interviewing and swabbing probably 50 to 60 people, family members, a lot of neighbors, we still did not get any results as far as a possible lead on a suspect.” [22:31]

Breakthrough: DNA Evidence in 2015

Three years after the murders, a new development emerged when Willie Guillory, a 16-year-old at the time of the crime, stole a horse in Houston. Upon his arrest in 2015 for this new felony, his DNA was entered into CODIS, revealing a match with the DNA evidence from the Nguyen murders.

Detective Stewart reveals: “She was the driving force behind this whole entire deal.” [31:02]

Confession: The Guillory Brothers’ Role

Willie Guillory and his uncle, Bobby Guillory, confessed to orchestrating the murders under the influence and directives of Daphne Wright. They admitted that Daphne, seeking to recover debts ranging from $250,000 to $280,000, manipulated them into staging the crime to appear as gang-related, hoping to collect on the victims' life insurance policies.

Willie Guillory confesses: “It was an inside job. Daphne ended up giving the key to Bobby to get in the house.” [29:06]

Bobby Guillory further elaborated on Daphne’s coercion, stating:

“Daphne wanted her money. She was something akin to a spiritual loan shark.” [35:02]

Arrest and Trial: Bringing Daphne Wright to Justice

With the Guillory brothers' testimonies, detectives focused their investigation on Daphne Wright. Upon arresting her in August 2016, further evidence, including ledgers detailing her financial dealings, solidified the case against her.

During her trial, Chow Tran, the son-in-law initially involved, testified about Daphne’s manipulative nature and her role in the murders:

Chow Tran testified: “They owed Daphne Wright a lot of money and that Daphne was basically blackmailing them.” [42:43]

Despite attempts by Daphne’s defense to discredit Chow’s testimony, the overwhelming evidence and his credible accounts led to her conviction.

Conclusion: Justice Served

In September 2019, Daphne Wright was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Her accomplices, Willie and Bobby Guillory, also received significant prison sentences for their roles in the crime.

Officer Weller concludes: “What goes around comes around. What's done in the dark will come to light, and I thoroughly believe that.” [46:42]

This case serves as a stark reminder of how financial desperation and manipulative individuals can lead to tragic outcomes, highlighting the importance of thorough investigative work and the eventual triumph of justice.

Notable Quotes

• Detective Stewart: “This was one of the worst I've seen.” [02:03]
• Officer Weller: “With my 14 years of experience, this is definitely the most gruesome, brutal scene I have ever seen.” [05:15]
• Detective Stewart: “If you look at the extensiveness of the duct tape and how it was applied and to what extent it was applied, one would have to believe that the intent was to kill them.” [19:19]
• Willie Guillory: “It was an inside job.” [29:06]
• Chow Tran: “They owed Daphne Wright a lot of money and that Daphne was basically blackmailing them.” [42:43]
• Officer Weller: “What goes around comes around. What's done in the dark will come to light, and I thoroughly believe that.” [46:42]

Closing Thoughts

The Snapped: Women Who Murder episode on Daphne Wright intricately weaves a narrative of cultural beliefs, financial strain, and the dark consequences of manipulation. Through detailed investigation and relentless pursuit of justice, the episode underscores the complexities involved in solving such a multifaceted crime.

Transcript

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[Officer Weller]

I was in shock. I walked out of the bedroom not able to speak, not able to get on the radio for help. I just stood there.

[Detective Stewart]

I've been in homicide 21 years. This was one of the worst I've seen.

[Officer Weller]

They were hog tied with duct tape. Their head and mouth were duct tape.

[Carl]

When their American dream turned into a nightmare, they looked to their beliefs for a way out.

[Chow Tran]

They never really got out of the hole that they were in.

[Bobby Guillory]

The couple were firm believers in an old style mysticism from their homeland and they thought there were actually people out there that could lift curses when they needed good fortune.

[Chow Tran]

That's what she advertised that she could take bad curses off.

[Carl]

Could their spiritual savior be responsible for such an unspeakable crime?

[Bobby Guillory]

They just continued to pour their money into the rituals.

[Carl]

They owed somewhere between 250 and $280,000.

[Willie Guillory]

And then she told my uncle, if they don't pay up, I want none.

[Carl]

Of this would have happened if she wouldn't have been so selfish in greedy.

[Detective Stewart]

Was she under the impression that you were going to kill the couple?

[Carl]

She was. June 10, 2012 Arlington, Texas at 7:29am Emergency dispatch receive a call from 38 year old Vietnamese immigrant Chow Tran asking for a welfare check on his elderly in laws. Can you give me their name? My dad name? L O N G. Last name Nguyen. N G U Y E N He is 70 something right now.

[Audible Advertiser]

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[Carl]

Oh my God. You know what ma'am? My son and my wife, they said they look in there. They say that they saw everything fall down. Okay, I've let our officers know.

[Bobby Guillory]

Worried, Chow sent his teenage to go knock on the door, which he did. But there was no answer. And the family began to gather and they became increasingly worried.

[Detective]

Child's family thought that something was wrong. They noticed that the window at their residence was open. Things just didn't look right.

[Carl]

Too terrified to go in the house and check on their own family members, they wait outside for police to arrive.

[Officer Weller]

I very quickly got disturbed, dispatched and when I got there right away I knew it. It didn't look like your typical welfare check. This appeared to be an entire family that was standing outside of an apartment. And that seemed a little off at first. Also, it being that early in the morning, we don't normally get welfare checks that early.

[Carl]

Upon entering the residence, there are all the telltale signs of a burglary.

[Detective]

The responding officers noted that the apartment appeared to be in disarray.

[Officer Weller]

I'm calling out, there's no answer. I know there's no one in the living room, the kitchen or the bathroom. The only room that I haven't checked is the bedroom.

[Carl]

After a quick check of the bedroom, Officer Weller doesn't see anyone and is convinced the home is empty.

[Officer Weller]

When I got there, I wasn't focused on the state of the room. I did not notice anything that stuck out to me. I was solely focused at that point, finding the family, making sure everybody was okay. So I'm thinking, great, everybody's fine, everybody's healthy. They went out for a walk. Still with my flashlight in hand. I go to turn around to leave the bedroom and at that time I see hand smudges on the wall next to a very small closet. So I hesitated for a moment. Everything inside of me told me not to open that door. But I would not be doing my job if I did not check that closet. I opened that closet door. I saw two people inside that closet. I knew it was the mom and the dad that I was looking for. They were hog tied with duct tape. Their head and mouths were duct taped. There was blood everywhere. In that split second, I knew they were dead. With my 14 years of experience, this is definitely the most gruesome, brutal scene I have ever seen. I was in shock. I walked out of the bedroom to the living room and I stood in the middle of the living room. Finally, I was able to get on my radio and I requested a supervisor and a crime scene unit.

[Carl]

When Arlington homicide investigators arrive, they too are stunned by the heinous crime.

[Bobby Guillory]

It appeared that the couple had been beaten with some kind of blunt force object. It was a very violent and bloody scene.

[Detective Stewart]

They were grabbing walls as they've been taken to the back room. There's evidence of thrown about furniture in the living room too as well, ransacking of compact discs. What crossed my initial mind was a robbery gone bad.

[Carl]

But even for a robbery, the crime is exceedingly violent.

[Detective Stewart]

I've been in homicide 21 years. This was one of the worst I've seen. Due to the nature of how the victims were found. I can see blunt force trauma to the forehead. I can see markings that looked to be possible hammer, but I wasn't sure then the amount of duct tape that was used on the victim's face all the way up to their forehead. The crime in and of itself is a heinous, horrific crime.

[Detective]

Who would do this? You have to say to yourself, who would be so cold that they would, you know, brutally murder an elderly couple?

[Community Member]

They're very nice couple. They never bothered nobody. Everybody loved them. I don't think they have any enemy.

[Carl]

When Long Nguyen and Hong Lee immigrated to the United States From Vietnam in 2000, they brought with them their time honored traditions and their beloved family.

[Bobby Guillory]

They decided to pick up their stakes and move to Arlington, Texas with their three children to pursue the American dream.

[Officer Weller]

They were a prominent Asian family. They had lots of ties to the community.

[Chow Tran]

Arlington is one of those big cities in Tarrant county that you really do have a good mixture of different cultures. You've got a large Vietnamese community there.

[Community Member]

The first wave of the immigrant come after 1975, after the fall of Saigon. Some of them adapt to society very well. The parent try to carry their Heritage from Vietnam to America this area during the 80s and the late 90s, there is a lot of Vietnamese people decide to live there. They study the area very well. That's why they choose Arlington to be a good place for them to do business and greater family.

[Carl]

Long and Hong saw an opportunity to create a legacy for their three children and grandchildren.

[Bobby Guillory]

When Long and Wong arrived to Texas, they started a commercial sewing business. And they enlisted the help of their son in law Chow to help run it.

[Chow Tran]

Chow was the one who spoke the best English, so he was kind of a face of the business and he dealt with a lot of the contractors and a lot of the different people.

[Carl]

After nearly a decade of rebuilding their lives in the U.S. their American dream came true when they secured a lucrative contract to make garments for a commercial giant.

[Chow Tran]

They actually had contracts with places like Disney.

[Carl]

But by 2011, the family's good fortune had all but run out.

[Chow Tran]

They had lost the contract with Disney and the business started going down.

[Carl]

The family believed that the string of bad luck required a traditional Vietnamese solution.

[Community Member]

For a couple thousand years. The Asian people believed the lucky God and the money protection God. If you pray them, you become more customer. Most of the time they invite the spiritual advisor. Spiritual advisor only need them when their family has something major, major issue like going to divorce, maybe going to bankruptcy, or maybe get in trouble with the law. They need protection and healing.

[Bobby Guillory]

The couple were firm believers in an old style spiritualism, mysticism from their homeland. And they thought there were actually people out there that could lift those curses when they needed good fortune.

[Carl]

Searching through a local Vietnamese newspaper, Chow Tran and his mother in law found an ad for a spiritual advisor 250 miles away in Houston.

[Chow Tran]

She advertised that she could take bad curses off, she could put curses on, she could do all of that.

[Community Member]

They believe that Xi is the right one to protect them or help them to recover from the bad business.

[Carl]

Encouraged by his mother in law, Hong, Li Qiao contacted the spiritual advisor and asked for her help. She agreed to meet Chow at her Houston home for a consultation.

[Bobby Guillory]

She performed a ritual and they were incredibly hopeful that she could turn the business around. And they thought that things were going to be looking up.

[Carl]

But one year later, instead of conjuring good luck, a dark tragedy has befallen the family. On June 10, Arlington police have just found Long and Hong murdered in their apartment.

[Detective]

It appeared that an attack happened as soon as they walked into their apartment. Something did happen at the front door because there was blood there, There was.

[Officer Weller]

Blood on the carpet, there was blood on the Couch. There was blood on the table. There was blood on the walls. There was blood everywhere.

[Carl]

While Arlington homicide detectives see evidence of a burglary gone wrong, there are other clues as to who might have committed the brutal attack.

[Bobby Guillory]

There was a plate of crushed prescription pills on the coffee table. As if to snort. There was a marijuana cigarette.

[Carl]

But to detectives, it's a blue bandana wrapped around a beer bottle. That seems almost like a calling card.

[Detective Stewart]

Arlington did have some very active Vietnamese gangs.

[Carl]

They, you know, they were known to extort money.

[Detective Stewart]

This was a light blue bandana. So I had to consult with the gang unit to see if they had some knowledge of it. And they did have some knowledge of the color of the bandana. I had everything to believe that it was gang activity.

[Carl]

Coming up, Detectives believe the evidence is too good to be true.

[Community Member]

Most gang members, they don't do violent crime.

[Detective Stewart]

Sometimes things seem too perfect. It was just not a robbery gone bad. We theorized that it was staged.

[Carl]

Could a financial windfall point closer to home?

[Detective Stewart]

I did question who were the beneficiaries? One was Chow Tran himself.

[Carl]

On June 10, 2012, in Arlington, Texas, police discover husband and wife Long win and Hong Lee brutally murdered in their bedroom closet. After finding evidence of gang activity left at the scene. Detectives remain skeptical given the severity of the crime.

[Community Member]

Majority of my job, he worked with Mexican, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, all gangs. You can name both gang members. They don't do violent crime. I have never seen the way they kill the victim lie. On this case.

[Officer Weller]

There was a beer bottle with a bandana around it, giving the impression that it was a gang related incident, that they were leaving their colors to kind of take responsibility for it.

[Detective Stewart]

It was too perfect of a crime scene. It was too set up to the point where I had everything to believe that it was gang activity. So we theorized that it was staged. Other initial items that we found that we thought we can send off to get immediate tests were taken, such as the marijuana cigarettes for DNA purposes.

[Officer Weller]

They took hair, fibers, DNA. They took swabs of the blood to see if there were any dual samples. They processed the duct tape to see if there's fingerprints or evidence.

[Carl]

Investigators next speak with the family to try and learn more about the victims. Clearly rattled by the discovery of their loved ones. There is only one family member able to speak with detectives. 38 year old Chow Tran.

[Detective Stewart]

I initially interviewed Chow Tran, who's the son in law. Chow being a primary spokesperson for the family because he speaks English.

[Detective]

Chow informed detective Stewart that the night of this offense, they were all at A birthday party and they were celebrating his father in law's birthday.

[Carl]

According to Chow, his in laws seemed to have a good time and stayed until 10:30. They received a ride home from another family member and that was the last time they were seen alive.

[Detective Stewart]

I asked did they have a lot of money around the house and things of that nature.

[Community Member]

Vietnamese tend to carry money at home. They don't trust the American banks.

[Carl]

Chow says that if they did have money at home, it wasn't much.

[Bobby Guillory]

Chow said the sewing business was never great. It was never thriving, and they thought that perhaps it was cursed.

[Carl]

Despite their financial stress, Chow has no idea how that could have led to their horrific deaths.

[Detective Stewart]

I asked him every possible as far as possible, enemies. Enemies as far as their business is concerned, family members, anybody who would want to harm this couple.

[Bobby Guillory]

No one could think of any reason to want this couple dead. They were sweet and they were generous and they were hardworking and they had great ties to the community.

[Carl]

On June 11, 2012, detectives attend the couple's autopsy at the Tarrant county medical examiner's office.

[Detective]

It appeared that there was blunt force trauma to the victim's head, struck with some sort of object at the time. Don't know what type of object that was because nothing was found there at the crime scene.

[Bobby Guillory]

But that's not what killed him. Her face had been wrapped in 25ft of duct tape. His face had been wrapped in 10ft of duct tape, and they suffocated.

[Carl]

The cause of death is unsettling even for the seasoned homicide investigators.

[Detective Stewart]

Just the amount of pain that it took to die in that fashion, that to me is like holding your breath until you die, you know, so that I've always thought just how painful it was for both victims.

[Carl]

Though detectives aren't convinced the incident is gang related, they can't rule out the possibility and are hopeful the partial forensic evidence they collected leads to a suspect.

[Detective Stewart]

If you look at the extensiveness of the duct tape and how it was applied and to what extent it was applied, one would have to believe that the intent was to kill them. It was just not a robbery gone bad. The whole point was to kill the victims. Gang activity could have been a theory. It just seems very personal to both victims.

[Carl]

As detectives conclude their briefing with the coroner, they receive a phone call that instantly captures their attention.

[Detective]

Detective Stewart got a call from the insurance company after the victim's death. And routinely the insurance companies were called when there is a policy over, you know, a certain amount. And their insurance policy was at least a million.

[Detective Stewart]

I did Question the insurance company as far as who were the beneficiaries. One was Chow Tran himself.

[Carl]

On June 13, 2012, detectives meet with Chow at the Arlington police station and ask him about his in laws business and sizable insurance policy.

[Detective Stewart]

He told me that because the business was in their name, they wanted to make sure that they had the ability to carry on the business if one of the family members were to pass away.

[Carl]

When it comes to their whereabouts the night of the murders, Chow and the rest of his family have airtight alibis. No, no, no, no. They come right to my house from 4:30 around to 5. We eat and, you know, we sit together and we play cards until 10:00 over 10:00, you know, so they stayed.

[Detective Stewart]

There to about 10, 10, 10 over 10. He cooperated with answering all questions I had as far as timelines of where they were at the time, the party, who was there. So I didn't have anything definitive to say that he was a suspect at the time.

[Carl]

Police collect DNA and fingerprint samples from Chow and the other family members and compare it to the evidence found at the scene.

[Detective Stewart]

We were able to gather a DNA profile from the marijuana cigarettes.

[Bobby Guillory]

They were hopeful that that would be the link, that would be the linchpin to the killer, that that would lead them to whoever committed these heinous crimes.

[Carl]

But when the results come back, neither the DNA nor prints match any of Long and Hong's family members or any of the other profiles saved in the FBI's Combined DNA Index system.

[Detective Stewart]

So it was very disappointing when we got the DNA sample back and they were not in codis. So then it could be an adult who just never committed a crime before and therefore not in CODIS as well.

[Carl]

There is another possibility, as CODIS does not account for a certain age group of criminal offenders, minors.

[Officer Weller]

One of the suspicions from the homicide detective was that it was a juvenile whose DNA is not in the system yet.

[Carl]

Without a DNA match, police are left to search for any possible lead, but none materialize.

[Detective Stewart]

After interviewing and swabbing probably 50 to 60 people, family members, a lot of neighbors, we still did not get any results as far as a possible lead on a suspect.

[Chow Tran]

At that time, they left no stone unturned. But for at least two years, there was no leads on this case, and the case turns cold.

[Bobby Guillory]

There was no movement on it whatsoever. And then in 2015, it sprung back to life.

[Carl]

Coming up, a bizarre crime sparks a new lead for detectives.

[Detective Stewart]

Him stealing that horse started this whole process of us finally realizing who actually.

[Carl]

Killed the victims and A jailhouse interview reveals some explosive information.

[Willie Guillory]

The plan was to make it look like thugs or gang bangers end up committing the crime, but it was an inside job.

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[Carl]

On October 12, 2015, over three years after the unsolved murders of Hong Lee and Long Nguyen, the Arlington Police Department receives new information on the cold case.

[Bobby Guillory]

In 2015, police received word that they had a DNA match on the blunt that was recovered from the crime scene.

[Detective]

In 2012, Willie Guillory, who stole a horse out of Houston. And of course that's a felony in the state of Texas. It turned out at the time of the actual homicide, this kid was 16 years old.

[Carl]

Being a minor with no prior felonies, Willie's DNA hadn't been in the CODIS system at the time of the murders in 2012. But in 2015, he became both an adult and a felon, which added his name to the DNA database.

[Detective Stewart]

You have to have a felony conviction in order for your profile to even be put into codis. And so him stealing that horse started this whole process.

[Carl]

On October 17, 2015, Willie Guillory is brought to the Arlington Police Department for questioning, but not for the murders.

[Detective Stewart]

He was in violation not checking in with his parole officer. We in turn made contact with him and we made arrest based on the violation of his parole and not the murder. At the time, I wasn't there. Are you saying your DNA was there? I don't know if it was. I wasn't because I wasn't nowhere around Arlington.

[Carl]

I promise you I have.

[Detective Stewart]

And you know what? That's why I'm gonna check your DNA again. Because maybe we made a mistake. It don't mean nothing but DNA. People can take your DNA and do while you sleep. When I explained to him the nature of the DNA, how DNA worked, how and why we believe he was inside that apartment, he immediately broke down, started crying.

[Bobby Guillory]

He confessed. He said, yes, I was there, Yes I did it, but I didn't do it alone.

[Carl]

Willie says that in 2012 he was 16 years old and living with his uncle, 49 year old Bobby Guillory.

[Defense Attorney]

Bobby said, you're gonna go help me do this thing up in Arlington, Texas, and took Willie along. Willie's life was such that he didn't feel like he had much choice.

[Carl]

Willie says that on June 9, 2012, he and his uncle made the three hour drive to Arlington. He also claims that his uncle had a key to Hong and Long's apartment in order to stage a burglary.

[Willie Guillory]

This is exactly how it all happened. The plan that my uncle ended up coming up with was throw stuff around, helped him Set up some evidence to make it look like thugs or gang bangers end up committing the crime. We had beer bottles, a blue bandana, pills, marijuana.

[Defense Attorney]

He actually left a marijuana cigarette or the remains of a marijuana cigarette. He smoked a little bit of it by leaving the marijuana cigarette to stage this. That was the very evidence that linked up to Willie Guillory.

[Willie Guillory]

Once the couple came home, I ran out, end up running towards the door, trying to stop the lady from getting out or making any noise. Then my uncle ended up snatching up the man and end up beating the man.

[Detective Stewart]

He said, I know he hit him with something similar to some type of blunt bat or something like that was used to incapacitate the victims.

[Carl]

Willie then says that after Hong and Long stopped fighting back, he and his uncle used the duct tape to keep them from escaping.

[Willie Guillory]

He ended up telling me, hey, help me grab him, put him in the back. Once I took him to the back, he ended up duct taping them. He said, help me transfer them from the room to the closet. And that's where we left him. And then we left.

[Carl]

With such a stark admission of guilt, detectives ask why Bobby and Willie had targeted the couple. That's when Willie reveals that it was a murder for hire plot orchestrated by a of his uncle's named Daphne Wright.

[Willie Guillory]

I met Daphne through my uncle Bobby. My uncle went into her office and started talking to her, and she said that people owed her money and she wanted them to pay up. And then she told my uncle, if they don't pay up, I want them dead.

[Detective Stewart]

At that point, Willie says, yes, I did this. I was used by Daphne. Daphne was the driving force behind this. She used us all.

[Willie Guillory]

It was an inside job. Daphne ended up giving the key to Bobby to get in the house.

[Carl]

With this new information, investigators charge Willie Guillory with murder. But they also need to verify his version of events. Their next moves are to locate Bobby Guillory and create a profile of defeney Wright.

[Detective Stewart]

Now we know that it's not some random gang. It's not some random people. We then start the investigation on Daphne, piecing things together.

[Bobby Guillory]

Lise learned Daphne Wright was a spiritual advisor based in Houston who basically offered to turn businesses around and to bring good fortune to families.

[Defense Attorney]

People would come, you know, purchase her services and use her. And apparently she was quite popular and had a lot of business.

[Carl]

When detectives reach out to Chow to see if he knows defeney right, they're met with a suspicious response.

[Detective Stewart]

When I do try to talk to Chow, he now directs me to his attorney, whose Attorney says that if you need to speak to him, you need to come through me. We believe he has win that now. I'm onto Daphne and he knows Daphne is a connection to him.

[Carl]

Detectives now have multiple leads. But in order to bridge the connection between Chow and Daphne, they need to talk to Willie's uncle, Bobby Guillory.

[Detective Stewart]

Willie was the catalyst at first, Bobby was the next piece of the puzzle.

[Carl]

Coming up, detectives on Bobby Guillory. But what they find is another pawn in a bigger game. I was scared.

[Detective Stewart]

I really was.

[Carl]

Daphne wanted her money, but was she truly the mastermind?

[Detective Stewart]

How did Daphne get the keys from him? Chow tran. Yeah.

[Carl]

On December 16, 2015, detectives traveled to Katy, Texas, to the the address of 52 year old Bobby Guillory, one of the two men alleged to have participated in the brutal murders of Long Nguyen and Hong Lee.

[Bobby Guillory]

Police arrested Bobby on two counts of capital murder. Just like his nephew Willie.

[Carl]

While at first Bobby refuses to talk, it's not long before he changes his tune.

[Detective Stewart]

I went down with a search warrant for his DNA profile. This, you know, probably got him thinking maybe they got something on me. And then he actually confessed to the offense. Didn't really want to hurt no one. When I put that tape, I was scared.

[Carl]

I really was.

[Community Member]

I know what I did.

[Carl]

I was so scared. Still scared.

[Detective]

Bobby did not have a criminal history at all. So before this offense occurred, he's never been in trouble with the law like Willie.

[Carl]

Bobby also puts the blame solely on 44 year old Daphne Wright, who Bobby claims orchestrated the hit.

[Detective Stewart]

So my question to you is, how much money were you promised by Daphne to go down and do this?

[Carl]

$10,000.

[Chow Tran]

$10,000.

[Officer Weller]

Okay.

[Detective Stewart]

She told you that you would get $10,000?

[Carl]

Yes. Bobby says he first met Defene when he was dating her friend in 2011. At the time, he had been laid off work and was struggling to make ends meet.

[Community Member]

I was so desperate, so.

[Carl]

Hungry. So didn't want to be on the street.

[Detective Stewart]

Didn't know what to do, didn't know.

[Community Member]

How to do it.

[Carl]

Bobby says defeney knew his financial desperation would make him receptive to her plan. She did use us. None of this would have happened if she wouldn't have been so selfish in greedy. Daphne wanted her money. Bobby soon learned that Daphne was something akin to a spiritual loan shark. The people who owed her the most were Hong Li and Chao Tran. Despite the fact that Daphne had never been able to remove the curse on.

[Chow Tran]

Their business, business didn't really pick up and they never really got out of the hole. That they were in as far as the business was concerned.

[Bobby Guillory]

Instead of changing course, Chow just continued to pour their money into Daphne.

[Carl]

She started running these guys on credit, and it ballooned up to somewhere between 250 and $280,000. Bobby says that when Defeney called in the bill, Chow and Hong couldn't pay, and that defeney wasn't the type to forgive a debt.

[Detective]

She was wanting to recoup the money that she felt like she was owed.

[Bobby Guillory]

She learned that Chow and his wife were actually the beneficiaries of two very substantial life insurance policies. Daphne pounced on the idea, and they could collect on both insurance policies.

[Detective Stewart]

From Bobby's perspective, Daphne was the mastermind behind this whole entire deal. She dictated everything that was supposed to go down. When Daphne gave you a key to that apartment, you drove to Arlington, was Daphne under the impression that you were going to kill the couple?

[Chow Tran]

She was.

[Carl]

But when Bobby tells investigators how Daphne got the key, he makes a startling accusation.

[Detective Stewart]

Caltran. Yeah. She told you that's what she got to keep her from him.

[Carl]

Detectives are completely blindsided by the allegations of betrayal.

[Detective Stewart]

I develop a relationship with Chow and his family would go see them periodically due the course of this investigation. And then all of a sudden, Bobby himself is saying that Chow was involved in this.

[Carl]

Before following up on Bobby's accusations against Chao, investigators focus on the woman who allegedly ordered the murders. Defene Wright. On August 31, 2016, detectives arrive at her Houston home.

[Detective Stewart]

She was married, and she had three daughters. She appeared to be the driving force in the family. She's loud, she's direct. She runs that house. Everything centers around her. Her husband Howard was pretty much subservient to her. We tried to talk to her about Chow. She confirms that she knows Chow. He's a client of hers. She knew about the death of the loved ones, the in laws. She said that he told her about it. I asked her about the amount that child had to pay her. She would not go into detail. I asked Daphne, what happens if someone doesn't pay you? And then she looked at me and she. She says, oh, they will pay. She had no doubt that she would be paid.

[Carl]

When detectives confront defeney with Bobby's story, she admits to knowing Bobby, but refuses to go into detail.

[Detective]

She was still very short with us and very cold. She wasn't going to help. She wasn't going to help us at all. Willie knew who Daphne was. Bobby, you know, ID her. Everything pointed to her. Yes, she was definitely involved, and she needed to be in Jail.

[Carl]

After defeney declines to share the extent of her business dealings with Chow, detectives are forced to obtain an arrest warrant and return to defeney's home.

[Detective Stewart]

We go to the Houston area and we make that arrest, but we also do a search warrant on her home as well.

[Carl]

Inside, police find a ledger which details defene's fees for providing her spiritual services, including removing and applying curses.

[Chow Tran]

There were ledgers that purported to show that she was charging people 10, 20, 30, $40,000 for services rendered. That mean my eyeballs popped out of my head.

[Carl]

With defene under arrest, detectives first attempt to find out if her husband Howard, knows anything about the crime.

[Detective]

Her husband is very cooperative. He maintained that he didn't know any of this was happening, didn't know why we were there, maintained his wife's innocence.

[Detective Stewart]

Do you have any idea anything that I'm talking about right now reference this whole situation?

[Carl]

Absolutely not.

[Detective Stewart]

This is your first time hearing any.

[Carl]

Of this information at all. For the very first time, detectives move on to defeney, hoping the gravity of her arrest will encourage her to confess. But defene continues to hold her ground.

[Detective]

If I have to make any statements or anything, I like to have my lawyer present before I do anything, okay?

[Carl]

Coming up, Chow reveals how much control Daphne had over their family.

[Chow Tran]

He tried to say was that Daphne was controlling his mind, that Daphne had control over his mind and his body, and she was making him do things.

[Carl]

But can he be trusted?

[Defense Attorney]

He claimed that his mother in law wanted to be killed. It was completely ludicrous.

[Carl]

To fully explain our case against Daphne.

[Detective Stewart]

You have to sometimes make deal with the devil.

[Carl]

In 2015, detectives subpoenaed Cao Tran's financial records. They discover that since the deaths of his in laws, Long Nguyen and Hong Li, he had been busy, but not with the family business.

[Detective Stewart]

We found the new home was purchased. We also know that the business folded. They didn't open the business again. I want to interview him now, but he refuses to talk to me.

[Carl]

Although authorities believe Chow is involved in the murder plot, defeney Wright seems to be the puppet master. Prosecutors are willing to offer Chow a deal in order to secure their case against the others. With his lawyer present, Chow explains that when the family's sewing business started to struggle, he and his mother in law, Hong Li, reached out to Daphne. According to Chow, they were terrified of being in debt to someone they believed had spiritual powers.

[Detective Stewart]

If they believe in her ability to remove a curse, they know that she can also put a curse on them as well.

[Detective]

She made it very clear you Know, if someone didn't pay, what would happen? And she basically said, I'm getting my money one way or another.

[Carl]

Chow claims that to save her family from an even more terrible curse at defene's hands, Hong was prepared to offer herself as the ultimate sacrifice.

[Bobby Guillory]

Chow said she had actually suggested that she sacrifice herself, that they let her die so that they could collect the insurance policy and pay Deafneen. Daphne thought it was a great idea. In fact, one life insurance policy wasn't enough for Daphne. She wanted both of them dead so that they could collect on both insurance policies and cover their full debt.

[Carl]

Investigators believe that after Chow and his wife received the insurance money, he paid Defne in cash. But they have serious doubts about Chao's claim that this was Hong's idea.

[Defense Attorney]

He claimed that his mother in law wanted to be killed. It was completely ludicrous.

[Carl]

Still, prosecutors believe they need Chow to put defeney, the woman who hired and paid the hitmen, behind bars. And they make him an offer he can't refuse.

[Bobby Guillory]

After all, all is said and done. Chow is offered immunity in exchange for his testimony against Bobby, Willie and Daphne.

[Carl]

We knew we would need Chow in order to strengthen our case against Daphne. So, I mean, you have to sometimes.

[Detective Stewart]

Make a deal with the devil.

[Carl]

On August 26, 2019, Defene's trial begins, and Chow's testimony is undeniably impactful.

[Bobby Guillory]

Chow portrayed Daphne as a greedy woman who would do anything to get her money, even if it meant killing two elderly sweet people.

[Carl]

DeFeney's defense attacks Chow's credibility and the claim that the family was indebted to a mystical mafiosa.

[Chow Tran]

What Chow testified to was they owed Daphne Wright a lot of money and that Daphne was basically blackmailing them. He tried to say was that Daphne was controlling his mind, that Daphne had control over his mind and his body, and she was making him do things.

[Defense Attorney]

You run up a $280,000 bill, and there's not a single documentation of it anywhere I could teach. Provide me with an email. How do you owe money? Zero. Nothing. I believe Chow Tran wanted the $850,000. The 850,000 went in his pocket. Nowhere else.

[Carl]

Chow also testifies he left the key to the apartment under a mat and told Daphne, who in turn told Bobby Guillory.

[Bobby Guillory]

The defense said even though Chow received immunity, he was complicit in this scheme.

[Carl]

In September 2019, the jury returns to announce Defene's fate.

[Defense Attorney]

Unfortunately, the jury made a call that I simply disagree with.

[Bobby Guillory]

She was convicted of capital murder. She received the ultimate punishment, which is life in prison without parole.

[Chow Tran]

My intention was to try child transport, and as it stands right now, Chao is not charged. And unless Daphne sits in jail long enough or Bobby sits in jail long enough to bring us some independent evidence, he's not going to get charged. It will never sit well for me that, you know, Chow Tran is not in prison.

[Officer Weller]

I do believe that, you know, what goes around comes around. What's done in the dark will come to light, and I thoroughly believe that. And they'll have to answer for what they did. All of them.

[Audible Advertiser]

Willie Guillory pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and is currently serving a 20 year sentence. He will be eligible for parole in 2025 at the age of 29. On September 13, 2018, Bobby Guillory was convicted of first degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Defeney Wright is serving a life sentence at the Christina Melton Crane unit in Gatesville, Texas.

[Carl]

You don't believe in ghosts. I get it. Lots of people don't. I didn't either, until I came face to face with them. Ever since that moment, hauntings, spirits, and the unexplained have consumed my entire life. I'm Nadine Bailey. I've been a ghost tour guide for the past 20 years. I've taken people along with me into the shadows, uncovering the macabre tales that linger in the darkness and inside some of the most haunted houses, hospitals, prisons, and more. Join me every week on my podcast, Haunted Canada as we journey through terrifying and bone chilling stories of the unexplained. Search for Haunted Canada on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.