Crime & Safety

Police: Mother Kills Autistic Son, Then Herself

The bodies of Thuy Phan and son Vincent Phan were discovered Thursday in Rock Springs Park.

Gwinnett Police found a mother and her 24-year-old autistic son both dead at a Lawrenceville park Thursday night, the apparent result of a murder-suicide.

Police spokesman Cpl. Ed Ritter said in an email media alert that the bodies of Thuy Phan, 48, and Vincent Phan, 24, were found Thursday, Jan. 30, around 10 p.m. at Rock Springs Park in unincorporated Lawrenceville. Both were dead from gunshot wounds.

Ritter said the son was “clinically diagnosed as being autistic.”

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Police responded to a call of two people missing a little after 8 p.m. Thursday.

From the police alert:

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“Uniform officers with the Gwinnett County Police Department responded to Rock Springs Park regarding two missing people. Officers learned from the family members of 48 year old, Thuy Phan (female) and her 24 year old, Vincent Phan (male), both of Lawrenceville were missing. They were last heard from earlier in the evening and have since lost contact with them. The son, Vincent, was clinically diagnosed as being autistic.”

 

The bodies were found at 10:07 p.m. in a wooded area near the paved pathway at the park, located at 550 Rock Springs Road.

“At this time, investigators believe that Mrs. Phan shot her son and then turned the gun on herself,” Ritter wrote in the email. “Investigators continue to investigate and are attempting to establish a motive for this apparent Murder/Suicide.”


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