Three victims have been identified less than a week after a series of violent crimes in South Bay on Thursday left them and several others dead. As of Tuesday morning, the deaths were positively identified by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office. Nguyen Pham, 72, Phuc Pham, 71, and Jiwanjot Dhariwal, 26; all three are from San José.
A 31-year-old San Jose man went on a stabbing, carjacking and carjacking spree on Friday afternoon, authorities say. About three hours after the last incident, in Milpitas, the police were able to apprehend the culprit, Kevin Parkourana. Just after 4 p.m., the accused allegedly ran and killed the Phams, a married couple, in an SUV he had stolen less than an hour before. A relative told the Bay Area News Group that the victims were outside enjoying the newly painted exterior of their home when they were struck.
In the street in front of the house on Friday morning, an improvised memorial of flowers and candles had been installed. A framed condolence read, “May Mr. and Mrs. Pham rest in peace.” Your loved ones are in our prayers. The assailant in this case, according to San Jose police, deliberately rammed the victims. On Tuesday, there was little evidence of last week’s tragedy at the Smart & Final in Milpitas. The blood had long since been cleaned from the floor between Wells Fargo’s indoor ATM and Svenhard’s pastry rack, and the defibrillator that had been used in an attempt to save Dhariwal had been removed. Workers stocked the produce section and brought grocery carts from the lot. Passers-by did their shopping and then left.
Mudit Mathur, 45, who came on Tuesday morning to buy a bag of granola, almost forgot that the tragedy had happened here because everything was normal. Just contemplating that, he continued, “is horrifying.” It’s further proof that “you can’t live in a bubble”, as Mathur said. “It could happen in any city.” He noted that the suspect’s obvious mental illness raised suspicion in itself.
