Background: News footage of the home of Lue Yang and Se Vang, who were killed by their teenage son on Dec. 27, 2023 (KFSN). Inset: Lue Yang and Se Vang (GoFundMe).
A California teenager who admitted to murdering his parents and trying to kill his sister will spend six years in custody.
The 16-year-old boy, who was not named due to his age, appeared in juvenile court on Wednesday to learn his fate after he was convicted of killing both of his parents, Lue Yang and Se Vang, both 37 years old, and tried to kill his then-11-year-old sister. The teen's then-7-year-old brother was found unharmed in the family's home in Miramonte, a community in the state's Central Valley.
According to reporting by local ABC affiliate KFSN, the then-14-year-old called 911 claiming that an intruder broke into the home on Dec. 27, 2023. Police said about a week later, the teen admitted that he made the story up and committed the crime himself.
During a press conference shortly after the double murder, Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni said the teen "fabricated" the story he told during the 911 call and used "multiple weapons to attack his mom, his dad, and his sister." A motive for the bloody crime was never made public.
The Fresno County District Attorney tried the teenager as a juvenile, which meant that many of the case details have remained sealed. Under California law, anyone under the age of 16 cannot be tried as an adult.
The maximum sentence the teen could receive was seven years in juvenile custody. The judge sentenced the teen to six years, meaning he will walk free when he is 22 years old.
KFSN was in the courtroom for the sentencing, during which one of the teenager's teachers told the court that the convicted killer was a "straight-A student," and said, "I really like the kid."
Family members of the slain couple set up a GoFundMe after the crime that is still raising money to support the two orphaned, surviving siblings.
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