DNA lifted from the sheath of a knife found at the crime scene in Gaithersburg helped lead police to arrest the stepfather of murdered Jessica Nguyen.
David Rich Hang, 42, was taken into police custody on Monday night. He is being held in the stabbing death of 12-year-old Jessica Nguyen.
"This was an absolutely innocent victim that as far as we can determine," Montgomery County Police Chief Manger said. "It just makes no sense why she was killed."
Police Chief Manger discussed the evidence, which led to Hang's arrest.
DNA was a key piece for investigators. A forensic lab matched a DNA swab from Mr. Hang to a sample taken from a knife sheath at the site of the murder. Police believe that knife, which has not been recovered, was used to kill 12-year-old Jessica Nguyen.
Chief Manger said a boot print was found at the scene that matched with Mr. Hang. In addition, police learned that Hang had taken off from work the afternoon of the murder. He is employed as a bus driver for the Montgomery County Ride-On Bus System.
Hang is currently in the process of divorcing the victim's mother. Police said that he had lived in the house with Nguyen and her mother from 2005 to 2006. Manger said that there were no signs of forced entry at the murder scene, leading police to believe that the perpetrator was someone known to the household.
The chief said in Wednesday's press conference that in addition to Nguyen's mother, Hang had at least one other wife. Police sources told News4 last night that Hang might have had four or more wives in Montgomery County.
Despite the evidence, neither Chief Manger nor Montgomery County prosecutor John McCarthy was able to identify a motive in the case. Chief Manger seemed to indicate that the six-year-old was an innocent bystander, but said at the time, he could not explain why Hang would kill the girl.
"What troubles me is that you can have someone as cold and heartless as that," Chief Manger said, "who could kill an innocent child that really had nothing to do with whatever issues he had."
Hang is due in court at 1 p.m. Wednesday for a bond hearing.
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