KTLA

Police: Former UC Irvine student threw elderly mother from building

Authorities say Andrew Nguyen Doan, 36, threw his mother from a building on a campus of UC-Irvine. Dec. 13, 2022. (KTLA)

Authorities have identified the two people killed in an apparent murder-suicide on the campus of University of California-Irvine Tuesday as an elderly woman and her son.

According to Irvine Police, Andrew Nguyen Doan, 36, picked up his mother, 77-year-old Thao Thai Nguyen, and “threw her off the landing of a multi-story building.”


Doan then jumped to his death.

Doan was a former student at UCI and last attended the school in 2019, police said.

“IPD has record of contacting Doan multiple times in the past,” police said in a statement Wednesday evening. “The last call for service involving mental health concerns was in 2019.”

Officers first received calls about bodies found lying near 214 Pereira Drive (Social Science Plaza B) around 3:52 p.m. Tuesday.

The motive remains under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective John Sanders at 949-724-7233 or email him at jsanders@cityofirvine.org.

If you or anyone you love is experiencing mental health issues or suicidal thoughts, please reach out for help. You can call or text the number 988, which will direct you to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

It is free and available 24 hours a day.