A man charged with killing his wife last month has been set free and now his brother is behind bars in connection with the woman’s death.
Long Tran, 37, allegedly told investigators on Thursday that he was responsible for killing his sister in-law, Bich Mai, according to court records.
Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives met with Tran in Seattle, where he told them that Mai was insulting him so he hit her repeatedly on the head with an unopened beer bottle, according to court records filed Friday in Everett District Court.
Tran told detectives that Mai was always calling him names and being mean to him.
He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of second-degree murder. He appeared briefly Friday in Everett District Court, where he was ordered held in lieu of $1 million bail.
His younger brother, Ha Tran, 34, was released Thursday night from jail, where he’d been held since Nov. 21 for investigation of second-degree murder.
Ha Tran was charged in Everett District Court earlier this month. The case has been dropped.
His other brother, Son Tran, also had been arrested for reportedly helping to cover up the crime. He was released from jail last month after posting bail.
Mai, 25, was found beaten to death Nov. 20 inside her Mill Creek-area house. She had been hit several times in the back and right side of the head.
During their initial investigation, detectives learned that Mai had separated from her husband for about a month and told an aunt she planned to file for divorce. Mai’s aunt also told police that the woman complained that her husband had assaulted her in the past, according to court records.
Ha Tran confirmed that he and his wife had been separated and there had been incidents of domestic violence, according to court records.
He told investigators he found his slain wife after a co-worker reported that she hadn’t shown up for work at one of the nail salons he owns with his brothers.
He told detectives he, the couple’s young son and his two brothers had stayed at his parents’ house in Seattle the night before his wife was killed.
Investigators talked to a neighbor who reported seeing a strange car parked outside the couple’s house early Nov. 20. He copied down the license plate number, and police learned the car was registered to Long Tran.
Police interviewed Long Tran the day Mai was found. He said that he had driven her to the nail salon where they worked together and then dropped her off at home. He said he went to his parents’ house, where he stayed until the next morning when he took his mother to a Seattle hospital.
On Thursday, he called a police translator and said he wanted to tell the truth about Mai’s death, detectives wrote in an affidavit. Tran told them he drove to his brother and sister in-law’s house about 1:30 a.m. Nov. 20 to retrieve his wallet.
He said that Mai was awake and began calling him names. Long Tran said she was always insulting him and treating him poorly, according to court records. He said he hit her several times with the bottle and when she fell down on the bed he left. He told investigators he threw the bottle away while driving to Seattle.
Detectives continue to investigate the case, sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Brand said.
Mai and her husband had moved to the U.S. from Vietnam in 1999. Customers at the nail salon where she worked recalled that Mai diligently studied to learn English and was a dedicated mother who often brought her 4-year-old son to work.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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