UC Irvine Murder-Suicide Victim, Suspect ID'd As Mother, Son

IRVINE, CA — A 77-year-old mother and her son were found dead Tuesday at UC Irvine in a suspected murder-suicide, the Irvine Police Department reported.

The victim was identified as 77-year-old Thao Thai Nguyen of Irvine, and the suspect was 36-year-old Andrew Nguyen Doan of Irvine, according to Orange County sheriff's Sgt. Scott Steinle.

UC Irvine police officers were called at around 3:52 p.m. to the campus's Social Science Plaza, after several people called about two people on the ground outside a multi-story building. Authorities found a man and woman dead at the scene, police said.

Investigators characterized it as a suspected murder-suicide. Irvine police said Doan threw his mother from the "landing of a multi-story building," from about the fourth or fifth floor and then jumped to his death from the same landing.

Irvine Police Department Sgt. Karie Davies said police had contact with Doan multiple times in the past, the most recent in 2019 for a service call regarding mental health concerns.

UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman released a statement Tuesday evening addressing the tragedy.

"At such a time, our primary thoughts are with the victims and their families. But there are also members of the UCI community who have been contacted to assist with the investigation and to share their knowledge of what may have happened," he wrote.

Irvine police urged anyone with any information regarding the incident to call them at 949-724-7233.

City News Service contributed to this article.