Ohio suspect asked neighbor to film confession after professor killed, prosecutor says
Asia Nguyen-Duy faces six murder counts in the shooting deaths of an Oberlin College professor and his wife.
By Grace Sullivan ·
A suspect in the shooting deaths of an Oberlin College professor and his wife knocked on a stranger's door after the killings and asked to be recorded confessing, Lorain County prosecutors said Thursday. Asia Nguyen-Duy, 31, of Ashland, Oregon, appeared in court Thursday, carried in by several police officers and rolled to the defense table in a chair.
Prosecutors said Nguyen-Duy approached a nearby resident covered in scratches and blood, asked them to record a video, and admitted killing their family while claiming to be "escaping a cult" and taking responsibility for the acts. The suspect previously went by Daniel Jones; court records show a legal name change in 2025. During the hearing, Nguyen-Duy said they are gender-neutral and prefer to be called Asia Nguyen-Duy.
Police were alerted Wednesday morning after finding a smoldering, modified vehicle registered to Nguyen-Duy in an Oberlin College parking lot. The vehicle contained loose ammunition and magazine packaging. Officers located Nguyen-Duy nearby and conducted a welfare check at the victims' home, where they found 64-year-old Pipo Nguyen-Duy and 56-year-old Thi Tran Phong dead from multiple gunshot wounds.
Pipo Nguyen-Duy was an internationally exhibited photographer and longtime studio art professor at Oberlin College. Nguyen-Duy is charged with six counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault, and one count of tampering with evidence. A judge set bond at $3 million, and the case has been bound over to county common pleas court.
