Jury Finds Alexander Hung Tran Guilty of Three 2015 Aggravated Murders
Today, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced that a Third District Court jury found Alexander Hung Tran is guilty of the 2015 aggravated murders of Heike Poike, her two-month-old granddaughter L.P., and Dakota Smith.
On September 18, 2015, Ms. Poike failed to pick up her grandson from school. A police welfare check was requested to look in on Ms. Poike at the home where she lived with the defendant, her daughter, and two of her grandchildren. When the officers arrived, they knocked on the front door and received no response. However, they looked through the window and saw a tarp in the living room. When police went around the back of the house, they found the back door wide open. The police announced themselves and received no response. They then went through the back door. Inside the home, police found the deceased bodies of Dakota Smith, Heike Poike, and a two-month-old L.P. Officers found the defendant in the basement of the residence, and he said, “I’m putting down the gun.” Police located the .22 caliber handgun on the floor where the defendant indicated he put it down. Several spent .22 caliber casings were located throughout the upstairs living room.
After the defendant made some comments about his mother, Ms. K. Santos, the police called her. Ms. Santos told police that she had purchased the Salt Lake City home where the defendant lived. She told them that on September 14, 2015, the defendant had told her that a man, a woman, and two children were staying in the upstairs portion of the home. Ms. Santos indicated she did not want other people in the house, and the defendant told her they would not leave. Ms. Santos instructed the defendant to inform the people to leave and that she would initiate the eviction process. At noon, on the day of the murders, the defendant called his mom and told her the people upstairs were gone.
During the trial, it came out that Poike’s daughter, A.P., and two children had been given an opportunity to move in with the defendant. Heike Poike moved in shortly thereafter to help with the children so her daughter could work. The defendant did not meet A.P. face-to-face until she had lived at the home for a few days, but when he met her, he quickly showed a romantic interest in her. The defendant sent text messages to her showing an escalating obsession. A.P. responded to the messages, feeling like she needed to be nice because he was allowing her family to live with him. The defendant told A.P. he wanted to marry her, have a child with her, and that she had saved his life by coming into his home.
However, a short time later, A.P. was arrested and incarcerated. The defendant continued his obsession with A.P., downloading her booking photo multiple times. While A.P. was incarcerated, the defendant’s mother received an electric bill that showed electricity usage had increased from $40 a month to more than $200 a month, which led to a conversation with the defendant about A.P. and her family living at the house.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office filed the case against the defendant on October 1, 2015. In December 2016, state medical personnel determined that the defendant was incompetent to stand trial. Four years later, in December 2020, the state medical personnel determined that the defendant was competent to stand trial. However, in January 2022, the defense counsel filed a motion to suppress, arguing that the police did not have the right to enter the home. The judge denied that motion in the case, but the defense counsel appealed to the Utah Supreme Court. In February 2024, the Utah Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s decision. Then, in June 2024, the defense filed another motion, this time to suppress statements made by the defendant. The judge partially granted that motion in the case in February 2025. The defense counsel appealed the part of the motion that was denied; however, the higher court did not accept the appeal.
Today, a jury found the defendant guilty of three counts of first-degree felony aggravated murder.
Sentencing is set for November 7, 2025.
“This horrific crime shocked not only our community, but people around the world. The wheels of justice moved slowly in this case. Initially, the defendant was found to be legally incompetent in 2016 and restore to competency in 2020. Today’s jury verdict shows that no matter how long it takes, this office will fight for accountability from those who victimize the people of our community. We hope that the loved ones of the victims in this case feel like they have received some measure of justice, though it may not be perfect justice; If it were perfect justice, their loved ones would still be with them today,” 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 families of the victims throughout the criminal justice process. Lastly, we want to thank detectives at the Salt Lake City Police Department for their impeccable investigation that led to this successful prosecution.”
###