2 found dead, child injured in Kent home

Neighbors didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. But when officers arrived shortly after noon yesterday at a home in a Kent neighborhood where children skate and people walk their dogs, they found a man and woman dead and a 7-year-old girl badly wounded.

The girl, Cindy Phan, was in critical condition with stomach injuries at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle last night. Relatives say she lived in the two-story, eggshell-colored home with her parents, Michael and Michelle Phan.

The dead have yet to be identified. Kent police got a search warrant to enter the home in the Stillwater Greens subdivision in the evening and began documenting what they found.

There was no evidence of a break-in, but a black Hummer H2 was missing from the driveway, said Kent police spokesman Paul Petersen. "We don't know if this was a home invasion, if it was gang-related or a murder-suicide," Petersen said. "It's just too early in the investigation."

The Phans have lived in the home since 1992. Michael Phan, 46, opened the Majestic, a Chinatown International District nightclub in Seattle, in May. He also is president of TLS Enterprises, a company that promoted and organized shows featuring Vietnamese performers at various venues, including the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma.

He moved from Vietnam in 1975 and worked for Seattle City Light as an engineer, said family friend Hong Trinh. Michelle Phan, 34, moved to Olympia from Vietnam in 1980. She went to South Puget Sound Community College and then worked for the state before quitting to raise her daughter, Trinh said.

The couple have been married at least a decade and had their wedding at Michelle Phan's family house in Olympia, with a reception at a Chinatown International District restaurant, he said.

"He's a great guy, always straight up and up," said Desmond Gibson, marketing director of the Emerald Queen. "A nightclub gives out the impression that you're all ganged up. But he's a very family-oriented guy."

When Cindy, a third-grader, didn't show up at Meridian Elementary School yesterday, school officials called her maternal grandmother. The grandmother called a daughter, who went to the house, Petersen said.

She entered through the garage and found a blood-covered woman's body in the family room, Petersen said. She ran out and called police from her cellphone about 12:20 p.m. Police found the other body and the injured girl.

Though Stillwater gets the occasional car theft, the 80-home subdivision is quintessential suburbia, said resident Janet Pflipsen. There's an Easter egg hunt, a summer barbecue and a block watch.

"I can't believe this happened right across the street," she said.

Staff reporter Nguyen Huy Vu contributed to this report.

Gina Kim: 206-464-2761 or gkim@seattletimes.com

Ian Ith: 206-464-2109 or iith@seattletimes.com