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2009-0319 - AP - NC man sorry for role in his family's slaying

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090319/ap_on_re_us/family_dead_north_carolina_27

Yahoo! News

NC man sorry for role in his family's slaying

By MITCH WEISS and MARLON A. WALKER, Associated Press Writers Mitch Weiss And Marlon A. Walker, Associated Press Writers Thu Mar 19, 6:27 pm ET

HICKORY, N.C. – On the outside, Brian Tzeo's days all looked the same. Up at 6 a.m. Wash face. Cup of coffee and a kiss goodbye for the kids. Always prompt for his shift at a North Carolina paper mill.

That regular working dad routine hid his entanglement in an opium smuggling ring that reached all the way to Thailand, and eventually led to the slayings of his wife and three children at their home, investigators say.

"I regret everything," Tzeo said Thursday in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press. "It's something I never should have gotten involved in. It's hard to live with this."

Tzeo declined to discuss any details of his alleged drug dealing and he has not been charged. For friends and family of the thin, mild-mannered Laotian refugee, the allegations were just as shocking as the March 12 stabbing and shooting deaths of his family.

"I was clueless. My uncle was always working late, taking care of his family," said Tzeo's nephew, Michael Saechao, 22, of Conover. "He never talked about drugs. I can't believe it. This was so unlike him. It just doesn't make any sense.

"How could someone so devoted to his family do this?"

Last week, Lisa Saephan, 40, and the couple's three children — Melanie, 20; Pauline, 18; and Cody, 4 — were found dead inside their home in Conover, about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte. Detectives believe they were killed by 37-year-old Chiew Chan Saevang, of Schofield, Wis., and his girlfriend, 40-year-old Yer Yang of Long View. Both were at the home soon after Tzeo left for work that morning to steal a recent a drug shipment, authorities say.

Authorities have said Tzeo would convert the opium to heroin, which Yang would take to Saevang in Wisconsin for sale.

In an earlier interview with the AP, Tzeo said his family was "his whole life." He said his daughters doted on him and were sneaking around planning his annual "surprise" birthday party in the days before they were killed.

He admitted to waiting for years to have a son "to carry on my family name." Cody was found shot to death at the family's kitchen table, his fingers still inside his cereal bowl.

Both Tzeo and his wife lived in refugee camps before emigrating from Laos to the United States in the 1980s. They met at a New Year's Eve party in 1988, were married a year later and lived on the West Coast. He worked odd jobs until they moved to North Carolina about a decade ago.

Tzeo struck up a friendship with next door neighbor Mai Cai, who had moved to the U.S. from Vietnam, when Mai settled into the quiet subdivision not far from Hickory. They spent a lot of time fishing and doing "everything together," Mai said.

"We talked about our lives, how things were so much better in America," he said. "We didn't have much when we moved here. We always talked about how we were able to buy homes and have nice things. I learned one thing from this: You can't trust anyone. My wife is so upset she wants to move."

The typical image of a drug dealer often doesn't hold true, said Eric Sevigny, an assistant professor in the criminology and criminal justice department at the University of South Carolina. Those who expect a flashy car and someone who spends money frivolously can often be caught off guard by a mild-mannered family man such as Tzeo.

"These are the traditional middle-class family people trying to make an extra dollar," Sevigny said. "They might be living in your neighborhood next to you."

The often have regular clientele and investigate the people they sell to so "there's not a lot of law enforcement exposure," he said.

Tzeo and Saephan separately filed bankruptcy in recent years, citing thousands of dollars in mounting debt and suggesting the family was spending more than it was bringing in.

At the International Paper Co. plant in nearby Newton where Tzeo operated a machine that made cardboard boxes, co-workers said he arrived on time every day and gave them no reason to suspect he was dealing drugs.

"He was hardworking," said co-worker Ruthie Jordan, 48, of Hickory. "Nobody could say a bad word about him. He always tried to help you."

That may be what he was doing with Saevang, the man accused of killing his family. Tzeo introduced him to his family about a year ago during a picnic, his nephew Saechao said, telling those there that he had just gotten out of jail and was looking for a job.

"He didn't seem threatening or nothing like that," Saechao said of Saevang. "He was kind of quiet and just kept to himself."

Kelly O'Driscoll, a spokeswoman for U.S. District Court in Madison, Wis., said Saevang was sentenced in 2005 in North Carolina to nearly four years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute opium. He was paroled in October 2007, and had been living in Wisconsin since December with an aunt and uncle.

O'Driscoll said Saevang apparently left for North Carolina shortly after meeting with his parole agent at 4 p.m. on March 9 and he returned briefly to Wisconsin on March 13. He has not been authorized to leave the state, O'Driscoll said. Wisconsin state police said Thursday that Saevang "was not on our radar."

Tzeo was meeting with investigators Thursday afternoon to discuss their investigation into the drug smuggling. He said he hoped they would allow him to travel to California, where he planned to bury his family.

"I hope they understand," he said. "I'm trying to be strong and hold up. But it is very difficult. I'm so lonely without my family. I miss my family. "

___

Associated Press writer Robert Imrie contributed to this story from Wausau, Wis.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
3046 INTN
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu