- Alexander Hung Tran's trial for a 2015 triple killing in his home began Tuesday in Salt Lake City.
- Prosecutors allege Tran shot Heike Poike, her 2-month-old granddaughter, and their friend Dakota Smith at close range.
- Tran's attorney urged jurors to consider his innocence, and not let emotionally disturbing evidence cloud their judgment.
SALT LAKE CITY — The 8-year-old boy's grandma always picked him up from school. But on Sept. 18, 2015, he waited and waited but she never showed up.
School officers reached out, and a friend of the family went with police officers to the grandma's home where they immediately noticed things that were unusual — a car in the driveway with the trunk open, items strewn across that driveway and what looked like a tarp in the living room.
The officers were concerned and decided to go inside, finding the back door wide open. Inside the living room, they found three people dead — the grandma, Heike Poike, 50; her 2-month-old granddaughter Lyrik; and a man on the couch, Dakota Smith, 28.
Prosecutors: Killer was 'dead set on not missing'
Deputy Salt Lake County district attorney Joshua Graves described the scene for jurors on Tuesday during the first day of trial for Alexander Hung Tran, 42. Poike's family had rented the upstairs of Tran's home in Salt Lake City.
Tran is charged with three counts of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony. His trial has been delayed for years due to concerns about his competency.
When the officers were clearing the house at 639 N. Sir Phillip Drive, after finding the bodies, they found Tran coming up from the basement with a gun, which he set down, Graves said, adding that the bullets in the gun matched the ones that had been fired in the living room.
Graves said gunshot residue on the bodies showed that Tran had fired the shots from within 2 feet of each of the three victims.
"Whoever shot these people was dead set on not missing," he said.
Graves told jurors they will hear testimony from forensic scientists about ballistics evidence, DNA evidence and evidence showing footprints on the tarp matched those of Tran. They will also hear from the medical examiner who performed the autopsies, he said.
Outside of the home, Graves said Tran made multiple comments to police about needing to "do whatever my mom says," complaining that the people living upstairs in his home ran up the electrical bill.
"What's going to happen is going to happen, but you know … my mom is hysterical over the electrical bill," Graves quoted Tran as saying.
Later, Tran made similar comments, stating that he was following orders, during an interrogation at the police station, suggesting his mom should be in the interview rather than him, the prosecutor said.
Tran's mother told police she told her son days earlier that she did not want the people in the house and would start an eviction process, according to charging documents.
Tran called his mother again on the day of the shooting, about five hours before the bodies were discovered, and "told her the people upstairs were gone," the charges state.
Daughter testifies to 'a very dark road'
Heike Poike's daughter, Ashley Poike, was called to the stand on Tuesday and testified that she had been introduced to Tran because she was looking for a place to live. She said she had moved into the house about six weeks previously. But a few weeks later, she was booked into jail, leaving her mom and children living in Tran's home. She said she spoke to her mom daily and was concerned about their living situation.
Ashley Poike became emotional as she described how she, as a jail inmate, was told that her mom was dead. She said her mom was her best friend.
"I was asleep, and they came really early in the morning," Poike said. "I was shocked, I was in disbelief."
She said the experience took her down "a very dark road" and was the most traumatizing thing she has ever experienced.
Poike testified about connecting with Tran through a mutual acquaintance. She said she tried to be friendly with Tran, sometimes offering to share food with him. She said after he became flirtatious, she became "kinda nervous," but felt obligated to feed into it because of her housing situation.
Poike said she had offered to pay rent, but they had not made any formal agreements. She said Tran would tell her he wanted to have sex and wanted to buy her a ring. Poike said she only lived in the home for about a week before she was arrested.
Poike said Smith was her mom's friend and had become her friend, too. She said he would visit a lot and was a good person who would bring things to help with her young daughter.
Defense says there are too many questions
Defense attorney Michael Colby also gave a brief opening statement Tuesday, urging jurors to take seriously Tran's presumption of innocence and not let emotionally disturbing evidence cloud their minds when making decisions.
He said he believes after they hear all of the evidence, they will have questions prosecutors can't answer and see problems with the investigation, thus leading them to conclude that Tran is not guilty.
Tran was charged in October 2015, just over a month after the killings. His case was delayed for multiple years while he was held in the Utah State Hospital after being found not competent to stand trial. However, a judge ruled he was competent again in December of 2020.
After that, his case was delayed for an appeal, before the Utah Supreme Court found officers were right to enter the home without a warrant based on knowing the grandmother, who was not responding, was caring for a 2-month-old child, and the two of them could need aid.
Correction: A previous version incorrectly called Heike Poike Heidi in one instance.
