Nonbinary suspect accused of killing Oberlin professor, wife allegedly confessed on video

A nonbinary Oregon resident accused of killing an Oberlin College professor and his wife allegedly confessed to the shootings in a video recorded by a stranger, prosecutors said.

Asia Nguyen-Duy, 31, formerly known as Daniel Jones, faces six counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault and one count of tampering with evidence in the deaths of their father, Pipo Nguyen-Duy, 64, and stepmother, Tran Thi Nam Phong, 56.

During an Oct. 29 hearing in Oberlin Municipal Court, Nguyen-Duy said they had legally changed their name and requested gender-neutral pronouns. Cleveland 19 reported that court records show the name change occurred in 2025.

Oberlin City Prosecutor Zachary Simonoff told the court that Nguyen-Duy, who had scratches and blood on them, approached a stranger’s home on Oct. 28 and asked the resident to record a video for publication online.

According to ABC News, Simonoff said Nguyen-Duy identified themself in the recording, claimed to be escaping a cult and accepted responsibility for their actions.

“Everything I did was on my own accord and I take full responsibility,” Nguyen-Duy allegedly said in the recording, according to the prosecutor.

Simonoff also said Nguyen-Duy told responding officers that they had killed their family and provided the address of their father’s home.

After locating Nguyen-Duy, officers conducted a welfare check at the family’s South Pleasant Street home, where they discovered both victims Wednesday morning. Police found Pipo Nguyen-Duy on the first floor and Phong in an upstairs bedroom. Both had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

The investigation began around 9 a.m. Wednesday, when Oberlin police and firefighters responded to a smoldering Toyota hatchback in a parking lot near the Oberlin College Conservatory.

According to Cleveland 19, officers discovered personal belongings and loose ammunition inside the vehicle, along with packaging for a 17-round Glock magazine and two 9 mm rounds.

Police identified Nguyen-Duy as the vehicle’s registered owner and located them shortly afterward near Shipherd Circle.

During Thursday’s hearing, prosecutors also told the court that Nguyen-Duy’s biological mother, who lives in Oregon, had described concerns about their mental health and said they needed medication.

A judge set bond at $3 million and bound the case over to Lorain County Common Pleas Court.

Pipo Nguyen-Duy was a longtime professor of studio art and photography at Oberlin College, where he had taught since 1998. An internationally exhibited photographer, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2011.

Oberlin College President Carmen Twillie Ambar announced the professor’s death in a message to students and faculty, describing him as a cherished colleague whose work influenced generations of students.

“I am simply overwhelmed with sadness, and I am deeply concerned about the impact of the devastating loss of Pipo to our community,” Ambar wrote.

The college temporarily modified or suspended studio art classes following the killings and announced plans to provide opportunities for students and faculty to remember the victims.

The case remains pending in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. Authorities have not announced a motive for the killings.