CA Ca - Monterey Park LA - Asian Male - 22 to 32 - Kidnapper known as "Wijie" - June 1996

[Nate_Bro]

Date of Discovery: June 4, 1996
Location of Discovery: Monterey Park, Los Angeles County, California
Estimated Date of Death: Same day
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Gunshot (self-defense)
Physical Description
Estimated Age: 22-32 years old
Race: Asian
Sex: Male
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 124 lbs.
Hair: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Scars on left arm, skin discoloration on left wrist.
Identifiers
Dentals: Unknown.
Fingerprints: Unknown.
DNA: Unknown.
Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Light blue shorts, light tan shirt, multi-color sandal thongs, black belt.
Jewelry: None.
Additional Personal Items: Unknown.
Circumstances of Discovery
The decedent was allegedly holding victims for ransom payment. One of the nine Chinese nationals being held for a $35,000 ransom in a Monterey Park home allegedly shot and killed one of his captors, wounded another and fled with two others. This was at 514 Casuda Canyon in Monterey Park, CA on June 4, 1996 at 0214 hours. The men, who ranged in age from 21 to 45, had been kept for up to three months in a single-family home that contains New Chinatown. The immigrants allegedly were smuggled into the country and held for ransom at a Casuda Canyon Road home. Known as "Wijie" or "Wei-Jie".
Forensic Genealogy
Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office
Agency Contact Person: Betsy Magdaleno, Medicolegal Death Investigator
Agency Phone Number: 323-343-0512
Agency E-mail: [email protected]
Agency Case Number: 1996-04283
NCIC Case Number: U960217770
#UP3515: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
701UMCA: https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/main.html?id=701umca
LA Co Med. Examiner 1996-04283: https://me.lacounty.gov/unidentified-person-detail/?caseNumber=1996-04283

 

[Nate_Bro]

What the contemporaneous reporting says happened​

• Event: Nine undocumented Chinese men were being held for ransom in a rented house in the 500 block of Casuda Canyon Rd, Monterey Park. Los Angeles Times
• Ransom setup: They were allegedly recruited in China (reported as Fujian and Shandong provinces), initially quoted $15,000 (with $3,000 down), then the smugglers raised it to $35,000 per person and called families in China with threats. Los Angeles Times
• Captivity conditions: Reported as handcuffed to each other, allowed limited release “intermittently and one at a time,” with some held up to ~3 months. Los Angeles Times
• Shooting: About 2:15 a.m. (reported), one hostage fought a captor, grabbed the gun, and shot one smuggler in the head (fatal); a second smuggler was shot in the upper torso (survived, stable at LAC+USC) and apparently called 911 as the hostages fled. Los Angeles Times
• Immediate aftermath: Six captives were found hiding in a neighbor’s garage; the suspected gunman and two other captives were initially unaccounted for. Los Angeles Times+1
• Smuggling route (as investigators believed at the time): China → Hong Kong → Cambodia → Costa Rica → Mexico → U.S., attributed to a Taiwanese smuggling ring. Los Angeles Times
• Names: Authorities in the LA Times coverage did not release the dead captor’s name or the wounded captor’s name. Los Angeles Times

There are later case-index pages (secondary aggregators) that explicitly describe the decedent as the captor/trafficker killed by hostages and point to NamUs #UP3515 and LA County ME case #1996-04283. They also report a possible name/nickname (“Wijie”) and an estimated age range (22–32).

 

[The4TierBridge]

Remember to include your source links so the thread is not deleted:

#UP3515: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

701UMCA: https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/main.html?id=701umca

LA Co Med. Examiner 1996-04283: https://me.lacounty.gov/unidentified-person-detail/?caseNumber=1996-04283

Higher quality version of sketch from original artist Natalie Murray's website: Postmortem Drawings | Natalie Murry

Photo of unique arm scarring from NamUs: http://namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/UnidentifiedPersons/Cases/3515/Images/90233/Original

 

[Nate_Bro]

Remember to include your source links so the thread is not deleted:

#UP3515: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

701UMCA: https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/main.html?id=701umca

LA Co Med. Examiner 1996-04283: https://me.lacounty.gov/unidentified-person-detail/?caseNumber=1996-04283

Higher quality version of sketch from original artist Natalie Murray's website: Postmortem Drawings | Natalie Murry

Thanks for that. Do you atleast get a notification when they delete things so I know to redo it?

 

[The4TierBridge]

Thanks for that. Do you at least get a notification when they delete things so I know to redo it?

You do, and the mod should leave an explanatory note as well.