February 2, 2009
Corina Knoll
Los Angeles Times (California, USA)
A 76-year-old woman stabbed to death in her Long Beach home was a well-known figure in the Cambodian and Laotian communities, her son said today.
The body of Leam Sovanasy, who lived with relatives in the 1400 block of Peterson Avenue, was discovered by a relative about 11 a.m. Saturday, police said. She had been stabbed multiple times in her upper body. Sovanasy was ethnically Laotian but born in Cambodia, said her son, who asked not to be named for legal reasons.
She arrived in the United States with seven children more than 20 years ago. Many other families from her village have since immigrated to Long Beach, forming what Sovanasy’s nephew, Sam Bunlot, called a local Lao-Cambodian community.
“Most of us, we know each other,” said Bunlot, 40. “She’s one of the elders, so she’s very popular.”
Grieving family members said they had no idea why Sovanasy, the grandmother of 25, would be attacked in her home. Investigators are trying to determine a motive for the killing, said Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Massacani.
“She devoted her life to Buddhism,” Bunlot said. “All she did was try to be a good person.”
The body of Leam Sovanasy, who lived with relatives in the 1400 block of Peterson Avenue, was discovered by a relative about 11 a.m. Saturday, police said. She had been stabbed multiple times in her upper body. Sovanasy was ethnically Laotian but born in Cambodia, said her son, who asked not to be named for legal reasons.
She arrived in the United States with seven children more than 20 years ago. Many other families from her village have since immigrated to Long Beach, forming what Sovanasy’s nephew, Sam Bunlot, called a local Lao-Cambodian community.
“Most of us, we know each other,” said Bunlot, 40. “She’s one of the elders, so she’s very popular.”
Grieving family members said they had no idea why Sovanasy, the grandmother of 25, would be attacked in her home. Investigators are trying to determine a motive for the killing, said Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Massacani.
“She devoted her life to Buddhism,” Bunlot said. “All she did was try to be a good person.”
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