The bodies have not yet been found, but a San Pablo man has been arrested and charged with the murder of his wife and her mother last summer, after he had reported them missing.
Phuc Hong Vo, 41, of San Pablo, was arrested last week at his home on Sutter Avenue and booked into jail in Martinez. He's been charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances, as Bay Area News Group reports.
After serving a search warrant at the home, police say they found blood evidence, and it's not clear what else they may have found.
Vo's wife, 40-year-old Tho Ngoc Ly, and her mother, 74-year-old Que Thi Tran, were reported missing in September 2023. Police said at the time that the pair "reportedly traveled to the Southern California region following a family argument" in Ly's 2017 Honda Fit on September 6, and have not been seen since.
Vo and Ly have two children together, according to neighbors.
San Pablo police later put out a public notice in early December seeking the public's help in finding the two women. But, according to a release, detectives "discovered inconsistencies in Vo’s statement regarding the victims’ vehicle," and then found the vehicle in Oakland on December 5. After surveilling the vehicle, police observed Vo himself entering and driving it, which led them to call him a person of interest in the case.
"For several weeks, Detectives followed up with varying investigative leads searching for potential witnesses and evidence," the San Pablo PD says. "Based on evidence gathered during the investigation, it was believed Vo had direct involvement in the disappearance and murders of Tho Ly and Que Tran."
The whereabouts of the victims' remains is unknown, but they are believed to be deceased. As KTVU reports, the home on the 1900 block of Sutter Avenue is now being treated as a crime scene.
A neighbor tells KTVU she became concerned after not seeing the women for months.
"The last time we saw them was September 2023, which is really weird," neighbor Jazmin Rosillo tells the station, adding that the women were often out gardening together.
Rosillo also told KTVU that she spoke to the young son of Vo and Ly, who allegedly "said his mom has been missing for a while and that they had fought. He hadn't seen her and that he missed her."
Vo was set to be arraigned Tuesday before Contra Costa County Judge Patricia Scanlon. His bail has been set for $2 million.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the SPPD Investigations Division at 510-215-3150.