A Tacoma woman and her ex-boyfriend who died in a homicide-suicide earlier this month sought protection orders against each other for domestic violence, court records show.
Diana Pham, 39, died from a gunshot wound to the head on Oct. 17 near the 700 block of South 38th Street in Tacoma. Her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The man’s identification has not yet been released.
Officers were dispatched to the apartment at 9:49 p.m. for a domestic-violence with a weapon call. Pham had whispered to 911 dispatch that her ex-boyfriend broke into her apartment and was pointing a gun at her, according to a search warrant obtained by The News Tribune.
The warrant shows that officers surrounded the building and knocked on the door to contact the ex-boyfriend. The more they knocked, the more the ex-boyfriend became upset. Dispatch also tried to call him by phone.
He said at one point that there was a bomb on the other side of the door and if anyone tried to come inside, it would go off. The warrant later said it was unknown if bomb materials were inside the home at all or if that was just a threat.
When South Sound 911 made brief contact with Pham, she said that she was not able to leave and was in the corner of the room crying. Officers also could not get either of them to leave the home, documents show.
A Tacoma sergeant contacted Pham over the phone, who said, “He won’t let me leave, or he’s going to shoot me.” The ex-boyfriend got on the phone and allegedly said that he was not going to let her leave. He also said that if SWAT came in, they were going to need two body bags, or words to that effect, according to the warrant.
Tacoma SWAT and hostage negotiators were dispatched to the home, documents show. Early Saturday morning at 1:08 a.m., officers heard two gunshots from the apartment. Pham and the man were found with gunshot wounds to the head.
Documents show Pham was taken to Tacoma General Hospital with a slim chance to survive. The man was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center, and he was not expected to live.
They were both put on life support and later died, The News Tribune reported. TPD notified the public about the homicide-suicide Monday.
A camera was found inside the house and was slim enough to slide under a door, and there were a cell phone on the bed and revolver on the bedroom floor.
Pham and her ex-boyfriend sought domestic-violence protection orders against each other on Sept. 3. A temporary order was in place for Pham until Sept. 17 when a hearing was scheduled. The ex-boyfriend was denied his temporary protection order. Neither of them appeared for Sept. 17 hearing, and Pham’s order was dismissed, according to Pierce County Superior Court records.
In a petition for her protection order, Pham alleged her ex-boyfriend fired his gun at her on three different occasions, with her son being present on one of those incidents. She said she had been physically, mentally and emotionally abused by him for the past three years.
In the ex-boyfriend’s petition for protection order, he asked for a one-year order, saying that he had been physically and mentally abused. He also alleged she did not allow him to use their co-owned vehicle.
protection orders, Diana Pham, ex-boyfriend, domestic violence, documents show, search warrant, Tacoma General Hospital
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