After more than ten years of living freely a 37-year-old Houston man is under arrest on the suspicion that he murdered his mother in 2014.
Police believe Donny Daosavanh killed his mother, Amnoun Sayphana, ten years ago. Sayphana has been officially “missing” all this time, meaning that a body was never discovered.
Many people mistakenly believe that criminals can get away with murder so long as they ensure that the body of the victim is never found. While it is true that it is more difficult to prosecute a murder case without a body, it is a myth that it is impossible. Cases throughout modern history right until the present day show that prosecutors can often get a conviction even if the body is never found.
Another myth believed by many is that “circumstantial evidence” is not enough to convict for a serious crime. When there is no hard forensic evidence like DNA, hair, a murder weapon, or a body, it is indeed harder to build a successful prosecution, but circumstantial evidence has convicted many a criminal.
Amnoun Sayphana’s case may turn out to be such a case. When she disappeared in 2014, she was 60 years old, and lived with her son; she did not have any independent way to support herself financially. It is highly unusual for a woman with her characteristics to simply “go missing” without the involvement of foul play.
But prosecutors have more than that. Police investigating the case say that her son, Daosavanh, admitted to them that he was involved in his mother’s disappearance when he was arrested in 2017 on an unrelated matter. They say the man claimed to have bludgeoned his mother with an object until she was dead, and hid her body in a location he refused to reveal.
Cops tried, but Daosavanh refused to disclose the information, and investigators have no other physical evidence that a murder happened, let alone one committed by Daosavanh.
Houston investigators say they have additional evidence, and that it’s enough to convict the man for murder despite the lack of hard evidence. But they’re playing their cards close to the chest and will not release details to the public ahead of the anticipated trial.
Samantha Knect, assistant DA, said that while it was “going to be a challenge” to prove the case, she thinks they can do it. She corrected the mistaken impression that prosecutors can’t bring a murder charge without a body.
Daosavanh’s girlfriend and other associates say they don’t believe their friend is a killer. However, the unidentified mother of Daosavanh’s daughter—the two are battling over custody and child support—says she was “not shocked” to hear that her former boyfriend had been charged with murder.
There is no date yet for the eventual trial.
