Irvine student threw mom off campus balcony

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Former UC Irvine student threw mom off campus balcony before committing suicide: police

By Katherine Donlevy

December 15, 2022

A former University of California, Irvine, student tossed his elderly mother from a building on campus and then jumped to his own death in a murder-suicide, police revealed.



Andrew Nguyen Doan, 36, picked up his 77-year-old mother, Thao Nguyen, and “threw her” off a multistory campus building before leaping to his own death around 4 p.m., investigators said Wednesday.



Though Doan’s motive remains unknown, police said they had interacted with the former UC Irvine student “multiple times in the past.” The Irvine Police Department last dealt with him in regard to a “mental health concern” in 2019 while he was attending the school.



Doan was a biological sciences major at school from September 2017 to June 2019, UCI spokesman Tom Vasich told the Los Angeles Times. Doan never graduated and no longer had an affiliation with the university

Doan was admitted to a mental institution sometime in 2019 and sexually battered his roommate, an Orange County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson told the LA Times. He was arrested but was released from custody after his mother posted his $100,000 bail.



After pleading guilty to the charges, Doan was sentenced to 156 days in jail and given three years’ probation, which ended in July this year, Orange County Superior Court records state.



Doan and Nguyen lived together in Irvine. Their longtime neighbor Michael Bertin told the Press-Telegram that Doan was known as a “troubled young man.”



“(Doan) had demons,” Bertin said. “It’s a horrible thing.”



Bertin said Nguyen was known as a kind but withdrawn woman who was often seen gardening on her front lawn. Bertin said he had not seen Doan in some time, but didn’t recall ever seeing the mother and son argue.



According to Vasich, suicide prevention phone numbers and words of caution are posted in the stairwells and along the landings of the buildings where Doan and Nguyen’s bodies were found.



If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.

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