An old friend
Question: Lois and Don: I was thinking about Kait today and wanted to write to say how sorry I am that this case has not been solved like a great Lois Duncan book or a Cold Case episolde, but also to let you know that Kait is very much alive in my memory. I hope you all are doing well, as well as can ever be expected after your tragic loss. But what was great about Kait was her enduring spirit, her love of life and her incredible sense of humor. I have so many memories of your home, learning to ski with your family (and Don coaxing me down a run by teaching me to snow plow); Kait's love of our dog, Clio; Sandia Prep; a trip to Disneyland together; watching movies in your den; swinging wildly into mud puddles from your tire swing. There are so many moments that I recall that bring me so much joy. It was a gift to have a friend like Kait. While I can't offer any help on solving her murder, I can at least remember Kait as a wonderful friend with a delightful sense of humor. And I can recall your family with much love and warmth. Wishing you the best and that someday this heinous crime can be resolved and that you have some peace of mind (not that it will ever make your loss any less horrendous). Best to you and your whole family! XoXo Carla Asked on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 at 11:19:54 PM Reply: Thank you for sharing those happy memories, Carla. One that you neglected to mention, but which I'll never forget, is the vision of you and Kait going trick-or-treating on Halloween, and you were dressed up as a Kleenex box! On the subject of memories, there's one that's kept nagging at my mind for all these years, because it was so out of character. A couple of days before the murder, Kait stopped by our house while her dad and I were eating dinner. She said, "I just want you to know that nobody ever had a happier childhood than I did. If I have children, I hope I can be the same kind of parent you are." Then she left. Kait had never said such a thing to us before. In fact, it always embarrassed her when people got "slushy." I've wondered if she subconsciously sensed that something was going to happen to her and that was the goodbye message she wanted to leave with us. Answered by: Kait's Mom

Congradulations! for being a BRAVE mom!!!!!!
Question: Have you ever tried contacting the manegr of Kaits\'s building. When you called the manger because he changed the locks he had soem information on Dung and his friends. Did you ever call him to ask some more information? Asked on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 at 11:35:55 AM Reply: I’m glad you’ve given me the opportunity to talk about that. So many new pieces of information have surfaced since Kait’s death, that I tend to forget the “minor” events at the beginning, which may be more significant than we ever thought. As I describe in WHO KILLED MY DAUGHTER?, (pg. 31 of the paperback), the day after Kait died, Dung told me the apartment manager had changed the locks so he couldn’t get in. Kait had rented the apartment in her name and Dung had been staying there as her “guest.” Feeling sorry for Dung, I phoned the manager and told him Dung had our permission to stay there until the lease ran out at the end of the month. The manager told me, “The last thing I want to do is create more problems for you, but there’s no way I’m going to let Mr. Nguyen back in there. Kait was a real sweet kid – my wife and I thought the world of her – but Nguyen and his cronies are something else.” He told me there were times when Kait ran to their place, begging to sleep on their couch, because she was scared. She asked the manager to change the locks to keep Dung’s friends out, but those friends smashed a window and got in that way. Another time she locked Dung out, and he kicked in the door. That information was in the apartment file. APD did not want that file. Everyone else wanted it – local reporters, the defense attorneys for the Hispanic suspects, researchers for “Unsolved Mysteries,” all were visiting the apt. office to make copies. But it wasn’t until 1992, when I told DA Bob Schwartz about the file and requested that the DA’s office obtain a copy, that APD was pressured into doing that. It’s now in Kait’s case file, unless somebody at APD has removed it. After my book came out, I tried to interview the apartment manager in person. But he was gone. He and his wife had fled the state with no forwarding address. When I talked with the new manager, he told me Dung had tried to re-rent the apartment. When the new manager refused to rent to him, because of his former conduct, Dung had an attorney threaten a lawsuit claming “racial discrimination.” Eventually the original manager and his wife returned to Albq. On 8/30/01, our PI finally met with them. They elaborated upon the information in the case file and also described how, the day after Kait died, Dung and his friends were out in the apartment parking lot, spray-painting a beige VW bug black. Tenants were complaining because black paint was spattering their cars. The manager reported that activity to APD. APD wasn’t interested. This was TWO DAYS AFTER THE SHOOTING! The media was all over the case, describing how a beige VW bug was seen fleeing the crime scene and asking anyone with information about such a vehicle to contact APD immediately! The grieving lover (who, at that point was the only suspect and didn't own a car) was spray-painting a beige VW bug the next morning? Why wasn’t APD interested? At first, the former manager and his wife agreed to sign a notarized affidavit confirming their statements. Then they abruptly changed their minds. They told our PI that they were afraid for their lives. Answered by: Kait

Any Hope?
Question: Hi I read your book and felt very sad. I was wondering do you have any hope that you will ever find out the killer. Well, I hope you do. Keep it in there I have a feeling you will find the real killer. Your a very strong mom!!!!Bravo!!! Asked on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at 03:56:46 PM Reply: Thank you for your support. We're doing our best. Answered by: Kait's Mom

So sorry about Kait
Question: In your book Who Killed My daughter you mention that Dung tries to kill himself and then you went to the hospital and tried to get some information out of him. Do you think that Dung knows something that might help you find the murder? I want to say that you are a very brave mom! Keep it up! Asked on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at 03:01:19 PM Reply: We are certain that Dung knows what happened to Kait. Otherwise, how could he be phoning people, hysterically telling them, "Kait's dead! They killed Kait!" hours before police allegedly "woke him up" to inform him about the murder? Our personal belief is that Dung didn't kill Kait and didn't want her killed. But -- yes -- he does know. Somebody stuck a knife into his stomach on the date of Kait's funeral to let him know what would happen if he talked. He survived, but that did prevent him from talking. Answered by: Kait's Mom

Just wondering...
Question: Are the police still looking for Nyugan? I happened to be reading the paper the other day and on the front page was a boy about 10 years old who resembled Nyugan and had the same last name. Asked on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at 01:57:54 AM Reply: The police have NEVER been looking for Dung Nguyen. They have no interest in anyone other than a "random drive-by shooter." "Nguyen" is a very common Vietnamese name. Like "smith" or "Jones." (Or like "Garcia" or "Padilla" in Albuquerque.) It's doubtful that the boy in the picture was Dung's son. Answered by: Kait's Mom

tara calico
Question: This is in regard to Kelly's question about Tara Calico. I approached the new sheriff, Rene Rivera, in valencia county and asked him about this case. He said they know who did it, but they nee the body before arrests are made. carol Asked on Monday, July 09, 2007 at 12:24:28 PM Reply: How do they think they're going to find a body after 18 years? Answered by: Kait's mom

hope?
Question: Is the investigation still going? Do you still have hope that you will catch who ever did this tragic thing? god bless you and your family... your family is in my thoughts and prayers. Asked on Monday, July 02, 2007 at 07:15:53 PM Reply: If your question, "Is the investigation still going?", means are the POLICE still investigating, the answer is no. They dropped off the case in 1991, after the DA refused to prosecute the Hispanic suspects. However, our personal investigation, with the use of private investigators, still continues. And we are open to any information that tipsters are willing to provide. We KNOW there are people out there with bits and pieces of information that will fill in the gaps and make this picture complete. If they are willing to help us, we promise not to reveal their identities. Answered by: Kait's Mom

A mother
Question: That case of Bucky is sad. You know I started investigating your case because I grew intrestead in it and in you. I really do care Lois. It bothers me that there is such hate in this world. To take a strangers life like its nothing, but to be a parent and be able to be given such a privledge and then harm your own child and take their life. Why???? You hear so many stories about husbands killing their wives and mothers killing their children and now weve even got people killing the mother's of their children and their unborn babies. How do people get like this? Why do they think its ok? How do they live with themselves? I visited your other website, realcrimes.com. It's so sad to know that just in ABQ, NM there's so many unsolved stories. That's just one state. Barbara Asked on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at 10:51:34 PM Reply: I don't have answers to those questions. Answered by: Kait's Mom

Bucky Kephart ABQ Trib Article
Question: http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/aug/24/joline-gutierrez-krueger-sister-displays-her-to/ Hello! It was almost totally by accident I was even at the c-store that day that I saw the ad for Bucky. I was thirsty from bike riding and I thought of going back to the hotel but I thought of getting a drink first. That was the only missing poster I saw of Bucky. It was handwritten and copied off in black and white. I am in shock that even if Bucky's body is ever found no one will ever be tried. Another NM case that has haunted me was Tara Calico who disappeared in 1988 or 1989. The case went national when a picture was found in FLA of a boy and a young woman bound and gagged. I believe the girl in the pic is Tara. The boy was thought to Michael Heneley - who also went missing from NM, but his remains were found in 1990, so it is not him. Yours truly, Kelly Asked on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at 05:43:15 PM Reply: Tara vanished shortly before Kait was killed. Tara's mother phoned me after Kait's death, wondering if there might be a link between the two cases. We could find none. Answered by: Kait's Mom

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