The motive in the double homicide of 31-year old Mercedes Ortiz and her 3-year old daughter, Aloni Truong, is documented in court paperwork. The two were allegedly killed by the father of the child, Davis Truong, who was also injured.
Court documents indicate that Truong shot the two victims and himself as part of a “planned” murder-suicide that did not go as planned. After the shootings, Truong is seen on a neighbor’s doorbell camera frantically trying to get help. He has blood on his head and body but does not appear to be severely injured.
According to the documents, Truong then walked to The Palace where two bystanders provided medical assistance. Police were called where they found Truong suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Truong told police he was shot at a home on Pebblebrook Drive in Brookstone Trace.
Police followed a blood trail leading from The Palace, which is in front of Brookstone Trace, into the development and up to the doorway leading to the residence Truong mentioned. Another resident opened the door for police where they found a significant amount of blood on the floor.
In what the other resident described as Truong’s bedroom, police found the woman and child, both deceased, as well as the a loaded SCCY 9mm handgun. At the hospital where Truong was taken with non-life threatening injuries, he told police he and Ortiz agreed to the murder suicide. He stated that he killed them “out of love and not hate.”
Truong remains in jail under a $2.2 million cash bond.
According to obituaries published by Evan W. Smith Funeral Home, Mercedes Antoinette Ashley Ortiz, born July 16, 1992 in Brooklyn, New York, was a “loving mother and daughter who will be missed by all. A full obituary will be published at a later date.” There is no mention of a service for her in the obituary. The obituary for Aloni Kieu Truong, born March 9, 2021, reads “our darling angel child, we know that we shall meet again.” Hers also states a full obituary will be published at a later date. Aloni’s visitation is scheduled for Friday, June 28 at 10 AM at Evan W. Smith Funeral Home, 518 South Bay Road in Dover with a funeral planned for 11 AM the same day.
The funeral home offers options to send flowers, plant a tree or leave a tribute to both Ortiz and Truong through their website.
At a recent City Council meeting, Chief Cecilia Ashe mentioned the tragedy.
“I did want to hit on just one thing in recognizing two groups. This week, we suffered a very heavy blow to this community with the tragedy of a homicide of two individuals. It’s very difficult for police officers to respond to those type of calls. But what was very rewarding in a sense of tragedy that hit this community, is how much this community stepped up for that family,” Chief Ashe said. “From Paige’s Kindness Project, to getting that family the supplies that they would need to get by but also the Johnson family who provided beds for the entire family. So, working in many different cities throughout my 28 years, it brings me such joy to be here and see the level of compassion and hope that, even in a sense of tragedy that we experienced, the city steps up every single time. So just a personal thank you to those two organizations, as well as to the DFS workers and everybody that came to help in that tragic situation.”
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