Judge orders Alexander Hung Tran to three life sentences without the possiblity of parole for 2015 aggravated murders
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced that a Third District Court judge gave Alexander Hung Tran three life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 2015 aggravated murders of Heike Poike, her two-month-old granddaughter L.P., and Dakota Smith.
On September 18, 2015, Police discovered a crime scene in a Salt Lake City home after 63-year-old Heike Poike failed to pick up her grandson from school. Officers responding to a welfare check at the house where Poike lived found the back door open and, inside, the bodies of Poike, her two-month-old grandchild, and a family friend, Dakota Smith. The defendant was found in the basement and surrendered to police as he put down a gun. According to trial testimony, Poike’s daughter, A.P., and two children had been given an opportunity to move in with the defendant. Poike had recently moved in at her daughter's invitation to assist with childcare. The defendant became fixated on A.P., sending her increasingly obsessive text messages and professing his desire to marry her. His behavior escalated after A.P. was jailed, and tensions grew after the defendant’s mother, who owned the home where they all lived, objected to A.P., her children, and Poike living there.
On October 1, 2015, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office charged the defendant with three counts of first-degree felony aggravated murder. Competency concerns and challenges to the state’s case delayed the case for a number of years, until the trial in August 2025. On August 28, 2025, a Third District Court jury found the defendant guilty of all three counts of first-degree felony aggravated murder.
On Friday, November 7, 2025, a Third District Court judge handed down three life sentences without the possibility of parole to the defendant.
“We applaud the judge’s decision that ensures the defendant will spend the rest of his life behind bars. We hope that the victim's family feels that they have received some measure of justice for the loss of their mother, child, and friend. The three life sentences reflect the level of accountability our community demands when an abhorrent crime like this one is committed in Salt Lake County, “said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “We thank your prosecutors, Morgan Vedejs and Josh Graves, for their tireless work ensuring this guilty verdict. We appreciate Lorianne Szendre and Heather Taylor from our Survivor and Victim Support Services division for working with the victims' families throughout the criminal justice process. Lastly, we want to thank detectives at the Salt Lake City Police Department for their investigation that led to this successful prosecution.”