Police found Pipo Nguyen-Duy and Thi Tran Phong dead after an investigation that began with a smoking vehicle near the college campus.
OBERLIN, Ohio — An Oberlin College professor and his wife were found shot to death inside their Ohio home Wednesday, and the professor’s 31-year-old son has been charged with multiple counts of murder and other offenses, according to police and local reports.
Pipo Nguyen-Duy, 64, a longtime professor of studio art and photography at Oberlin College and Conservatory, and Thi Tran Phong were identified as the victims. Daniel Jones of Ashland, Oregon, was taken into custody Wednesday and remained in the Lorain County Jail on Thursday. Cleveland 19 reported that Jones is Nguyen-Duy’s son and Phong’s stepson. Jones faces six counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault and one count of tampering with evidence. The charges are allegations, and the case has not been adjudicated.
The investigation began at about 8:57 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, when Oberlin police responded to the Oberlin College Conservatory parking lot on East College Street to help firefighters with a vehicle that was smoking and possibly on fire. Authorities identified Jones as the vehicle’s registered owner and began trying to locate him as part of a welfare check.
Police said officers found Jones in the 200 block of Shipherd Circle at about 10:19 a.m. and took him into custody without incident. About nine minutes later, officers went to a home in the 30 block of South Pleasant Street to check on members of his family. Investigators found Nguyen-Duy on the first floor and a woman on the second floor. Police said both had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
Early reports did not immediately identify the woman and described her as 47 years old. Updated reporting Thursday identified her as Thi Tran Phong, 56, and described her as Nguyen-Duy’s wife and Jones’ stepmother. Authorities had not publicly explained the age discrepancy in the initial information reviewed. Police initially described the incident as believed to be domestic in nature and said there was no continuing danger to the public once the sole suspect was detained.
Nguyen-Duy had taught at Oberlin since 1998 and served as a professor of studio art and photography. His Oberlin faculty biography says he was born in Hue, Vietnam, and immigrated to the United States as a political refugee in 1975. He later became an internationally exhibited photographer whose career included a Guggenheim Fellowship and other recognition. Oberlin College President Carmen Twillie Ambar described him in a message to the campus as a cherished colleague whose passion for photography had an enduring effect on students and colleagues.
The deaths prompted a shelter-in-place order at Oberlin College during the police response Wednesday. The college said the order was issued at the request of police and was lifted after authorities determined there was no continuing threat to the campus or surrounding community. Most classes were expected to continue Thursday, while Studio Art classes, the department in which Nguyen-Duy taught, were canceled. College officials also made counseling and support resources available to students, faculty and staff.
The shooting stunned a campus where Nguyen-Duy had spent nearly three decades teaching photography and art. The college said opportunities would be arranged for members of the community to gather and remember him, though plans for a formal memorial had not yet been announced. His work was also included in a Studio Art faculty and staff exhibition scheduled at the college this fall.
Authorities have not publicly released a confirmed motive or a full account of what happened inside the South Pleasant Street home before the victims were found. Investigators processed both the residence and the area where the smoking vehicle was discovered. The unusual sequence of events surrounding that vehicle led officers first to Jones and then to the home, according to police accounts.
Jones was booked into the Lorain County Jail Wednesday night. Updated reporting Thursday said he was scheduled for a court appearance as the criminal case moved forward. Authorities have not released additional evidence explaining the circumstances that led to the killings, and the investigation remains active.
Author note: Last updated October 29, 2026.