Cold Cases, Double Homicides, Break-Ins: Contra Costa County DA's 2025 Report

LAMORINDA, CA — A new annual report from the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, released today, delivers a confident account of prosecutorial success.

The office reports a 96 percent felony conviction rate in jury trials, near-total success in prosecuting homicides, and $9.8 million in restitution to victims.

Officials spotlight diversion programs like the Neighborhood Restorative Partnership, said to reduce repeat offenses. In addition, they describe new enforcement against DUI fatalities, retail theft, and public corruption.

The report credits DNA and genetic genealogy for solving cold cases and announces expanded access through a new East County office.

Misdemeanor filings increased to 15,460, the highest level in two years (up from 13,520) and above most annual totals recorded since 2018. Felony filings also remained elevated, ranking among the highest levels seen since 2018.

The Direct Court Unit, which handles serious felony prosecutions across Contra Costa County’s courthouses in Martinez, Pittsburg, and Richmond, managed cases from initial appearance through trial. The unit works closely with local law enforcement, courts, and communities while applying countywide prosecution standards.

Among the cases highlighted was People v. Kenneth McIsaac. On March 27, a jury found McIsaac guilty of residential robbery and kidnapping for ransom following a violent home invasion in Lafayette. He was later sentenced on October 24 to 16 years to life in state prison.

The homicide unit also cited People v. Phuc Hong Vo. On May 20, a jury convicted Vo, a San Pablo resident, of double homicide and a multiple-victim special circumstance for killing his wife, Tho Ly, and mother-in-law, Que Tran. Prosecutors showed that Vo was maintaining a separate relationship overseas at the time of the killings. He disposed of Tran’s body in the Oakland Estuary, while Ly’s remains were never recovered. Vo received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Over the past year, the unit secured convictions and case resolutions in crimes dating from the 1990s through the early 2000s, using modern DNA testing to revisit long-dormant investigations.

One of the cases highlighted was People v. Mathew Muller. Known as the “American Nightmare” kidnapper, Muller entered a no contest plea on July 10 in connection with a 2015 San Ramon kidnapping-for-ransom case that went unreported for nearly a decade. Prosecutors said that during the spring of 2015, Muller illegally detained two men and one woman and demanded ransom, forcing one victim to withdraw more than $30,000 to secure the release of the others. The case came to light years later after Muller admitted involvement in 2024 while already serving a 40-year sentence for the kidnapping and rape of Denise Huskins.

Another case, People v. James Grimsley, involved the 1990s murder of 28-year-old Terrie Ladwig in Concord. The victim, a transgender woman, had been killed nearly three decades before the case was solved. Advances in DNA technology eventually linked Grimsley to the crime. He was convicted of second-degree murder on August 29 and sentenced to 15 years to life, closing a case that had remained unresolved for decades and had long weighed on the community.

The DA's Neighborhood Restorative Partnership Program uses community-based rehabilitation before charges are filed in court to divert lower-level misdemeanor cases out the courts. Misdemeanor recidivism rates declined and, of 288 cases referred since 2022, 119 participants completed the program, and 59 were actively enrolled.

The document omits descriptions of cases that were filed but later dropped or reduced, and gives no explanation for those decisions.

Such omissions are typical. Annual reports serve as public accountability documents, focusing on wins, programs, and outcome metrics. Case-level failures are rarely noted unless highly publicized or controversial.

However, the report offers insight into the office’s leadership. Diana Becton, the first woman and African American elected as district attorney in Contra Costa County, has emphasized prosecuting serious crime and expanding alternatives to incarceration.