1994 — Jan 30, Van apparently driven into path of tractor-trailer, near Howell, MI — 7

–7  AP. “Report: Betrothed teen rejected agreement.” Daily Globe, Ironwood, MI. 2-2-1994, 13.

 

Narrative Information

 

Feb 2: “Pontiac, Mich. (AP) — New evidence that the teen-age daughter of Laotian refugees spurned an arranged marriage left police no closer to determining whether the jilted suitor committed murder and suicide at the wheel of a van. Kai Chanhthavong, 17, and Khamphong ‘Pong’ Phonemalay, 37, were among seven people killed Sunday morning [30^th] when their van collided head-on with a tractor-trailer near Howell in Livingston County.

 

“Phonemalay apparently was driving the van, sheriff’s Lt. Ivan Deering said. Witnesses said the van did not swerve but crossed into the opposite lane, then appeared to speed up before slamming into the truck.

 

“Also killed were Kai’s parents, her younger sister, her grand-mother and a family friend from Detroit. Phonemalay once lived at the Chanhthavongs’ Pontiac home but was living in a Pontiac apartment at the time of the death, The Detroit News reported today.

 

“Since Sunday, investigators have been trying to determine whether Phonemalay, frustrated by Kai’s resistance to the marriage he had arranged with her parents, intentionally crashed the van. On Monday, police said, they found a prenuptial agreement in the Chanhthavongs’ home. The agreement dated May 4, 1993, called for Phonemalay to give Kai’s parents $15,000, gold jewelry valued at $2,000 and a $1,400 diamond ring in exchange for her hand in marriage, The News said. At the bottom of the document, the Detroit Free Press reported today, Kai wrote ‘I don’t want to marry Kham.’ The document, and Kai’s notation on it, provided only ‘one more piece of the puzzle’ surrounding Sunday’s tragedy, Deering said. ‘We cannot call this a murder-suicide because we don’t have any concrete evidence, like a suicide note or a conversation he may have had with someone where he discussed doing this,’ he told the Free Press. ‘But the circumstances could certainly lead you to that conclusion.’

 

“The Chanhthavongs, Phonemalay and Amkha Veoprasaseuth were returning from a weekend visit with another family friend in Holland [Ottawa and Allegan counties, MI], Piou Bounyavong, when the crash occurred. Kai’s father, Buonmy Chanhthavong, 45, was at the wheel when the van left the west Michigan city, Bounyavong said.

 

“But, Deering told The News, ‘The father was found belted in a passenger seat, and Phonemalay’s injuries indicate he was driving the van at the time of the crash.’

 

“The Chanhthavongs still had the cash and jewelry offered by Phonemalay at the time of their deaths, the Free Press said. Acquaintances of Phonemalay said he was angry that the family had refused to return the items, the newspaper said.

 

“Police believed letters written in Laotian and found in Phonemalay’s toolbox at work might have provided clues about his soured relationship with Kai. The letters translated as love songs he was writing, but none mentioned Kai, investigators told The News.

 

“Police conceded that they could guess at, but probably never prove, a motive for the deadly crash.

 

“Kai embraced American culture — playing softball, swimming for Pontiac Central High School, entering the Miss Teen-Age Michigan Pageant and, the marriage agreement notwithstanding, wanted to date boys her age.

 

“Phonemalay, who like Kai’s parents had fled communist rule in Laos, wanted to proceed with the arranged marriage common to the culture of his native country. But co-workers have given differing accounts of his state of mind in recent weeks, some saying he was upset with Kai and others calling him happy. ‘I know there was problems there. She was very young,’ said Mike Kosciolek, Phonemalay’s supervisor at Special Mold Engineering in Rochester. ‘There was totally different conflicts with just about everything. I don’t think she really liked him that much, not as much as he liked her,’ Kosciolek said. ‘But he didn’t seem that much unhappy about the situation — nothing that would ever warrant this….” (Associated Press. “Report: Betrothed teen rejected agreement.” Daily Globe, Ironwood, MI. 2-2-1994, p. 13.)

 

Source

 

Associated Press. “Report: Betrothed teen rejected agreement.” Daily Globe, Ironwood, MI. 2-2-1994, p. 13. Accessed 3-3-2019: https://newspaperarchive.com/ironwood-daily-globe-feb-02-1994-p-15/