Asia Nguyen-Duy

Introduction

Asia Nguyen-Duy — identified by Oberlin, Ohio police as Daniel Jones, 31, of Ashland, Oregon, and telling an Oberlin Municipal Court judge “my name is Asia Nguyen-Duy” — is charged with six counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault and one count of tampering with evidence in the shooting deaths of his father, Oberlin College studio art and photography professor Pipo Hieu Nguyen-Duy, 64, and his stepmother, Tran Thi Phong, 56. He was arrested October 28, 2026, after a smoldering car he owned was found burning in the Oberlin College Conservatory parking lot and officers followed the trail to a South Pleasant Street home where both victims lay dead.

Background Information

Pipo Nguyen-Duy had taught at Oberlin College since 1998 and was known on campus simply as Pipo; he came to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam in 1975. College President Ambar described him as “a cherished colleague and a vibrant presence in the classroom,” writing that “Pipo was beloved. During his years at Oberlin, he touched all of us through his passion for photography.”

Asia Nguyen-Duy, according to city Prosecutor Zachary Simonoff, has prior, low-level criminal offenses in Oregon. His biological mother, an Oregon resident, told investigators after his arrest that he “is currently psychotic and needs medication,” per Simonoff’s statement to the court.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged, not convicted. An indictment and criminal charges are accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the prosecution bears the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

According to the Oberlin police incident report and Prosecutor Simonoff’s account at arraignment, firefighters were dispatched to the conservatory lot at approximately 8:57 a.m. on October 28 and found a silver Toyota hatchback with Oregon plates smoldering — a wood-stove-type heater in the back seat, a makeshift chimney pipe exiting the roof, a smoldering cardboard box in the front seat, and inside the car the registered owner’s wallet, passport and keys alongside loose live ammunition. The registered owner was identified as Jones.

Officers located him in the 200 block of Shipherd Circle at approximately 10:19 a.m. — wet, disheveled, with scratches on his face and injuries to his hand and arm. Simonoff told the court he had knocked on a resident’s door asking her to record a video, saying he was escaping a cult, that he did not want police involved, and — in the video — “Everything I did was on my own accord and I take full responsibility.” Simonoff said Nguyen-Duy then confessed to killing Pipo Nguyen-Duy and Thi Tran Phong and pointed officers to the South Pleasant Street home; a neighbor told FOX 8 he had leaped out of a neighbor’s car claiming he was fleeing a cult.

At 10:27 a.m., officers forced entry at 33 South Pleasant Street and found a man dead on the first floor and a woman dead in an upstairs bedroom, both with multiple gunshot wounds, according to the police narrative. The firearm believed used has not been recovered, nor has a fanny pack witnesses said he wore before the arrest; inside his burned car investigators also found a package for a 17-round Glock magazine and two 9mm rounds. The New York Post’s booking photo shows him with a bloodied face and “EBK” — slang, per the report, for the gang phrase “everybody killa” — tattooed across his forehead.

Public Reaction and Consequences

News of the deaths, in the words of one Oberlin senior, made stomachs drop across campus: “My stomach dropped, I started crying… This is just the most awful thing to have happened. He is beloved by everybody here and has been teaching at the school for so long.” The college requested a shelter-in-place order Wednesday morning that was lifted once police confirmed no danger to campus.

At the arraignment, the defendant was carried into the courtroom by four law enforcement officers in handcuffs and ankle restraints; prosecutors and the defense agreed on $1.5 million bond, but Judge Farah Emeka doubled it to $3 million “given the egregious nature of the charges.” The New York Post reported the defendant appeared catatonic, staring blankly at the floor, before flashing a grin at a television cameraman.

Current Status

Asia Nguyen-Duy remains in the Lorain County jail on $3 million bond and has waived the right to a preliminary hearing; the case now goes to a Lorain County grand jury for possible indictment, and a conviction could carry life in prison. The investigation, per Oberlin police, remains open. No plea is recorded in the fetched coverage, and no attorney’s response on the merits is on file.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Whatever the courts decide, the record already describes a family destroyed and a campus grieving its teacher: a professor of nearly three decades shot dead in his own home alongside his wife, a son in a jail cell under eleven felony counts, and a confessed video — “I take full responsibility” — played back in open court. The name he gave the judge, not the one on the booking card, is how he asked to be known, and the grand jury will consider the case under the charges prosecutors laid out October 29.

Sources

• New York Post, “Chilling mugshot revealed for son, 32, accused of murdering Oberlin College professor dad, stepmom,” October 29, 2026 — source
• FOX 8 Cleveland (WJW), “Pipo Nguyen-Duy: Suspect in murder of Oberlin College professor faces judge,” October 29, 2026 — source
• WKYC Studios, “Bond set at $3M for Oberlin shooting suspect accused of killing professor father, stepmother,” October 29, 2026 — source
• Lorain Daily, “Daniel Jones faces 11 charges in Oberlin double homicide,” October 29, 2026 — source