Cops: Gambler Loses Bets, Loses Control

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Susan and David had been married for 25 years when cops say he strangled her and buried her body in the backyard

David and Susan Lam came to America to escape the adversity they faced in Vietnam. Nearly thirty years later, cops say the man she started a new life with would violently take it all away.

The Lams, both of Chinese decent, had meet in the 1970s while living in Vietnam. When times got tough in 1978, they became refugees and moved to Chicago, finally settling in Southern California.

Their new life in the Golden State looked like the pair had hit the jackpot. Over the years, David had earned a good job at a local Chinese casino and they were able to purchase a house in Rowland Heights-- a place cops say might have served as Susan's final resting place.

Dealt A Bad Hand

But the good times didn't last and soon the couple was facing serious problems surrounding David's gamblng addiction.

In 2000 and 2001, he lost large sums of money in the stock market. These losses combined with David's continuous losing streak in gambling sent the Lam's finances to ruin. He and Susan claimed bankruptcy and also lost some of their property.  

Their money crisis kept on escalating although David claimed to have sworn off gambling. In the summer of 2005, he borrowed $50,000 from his brother-in-law to pay off his gambling debts. Cops say that Susan couldn't stay silent anymore and the couple began intensely heated arguments.

Unexpected Backyard Discovery

Susan and her sister had always been very close. When Susan didn't call the day after a major fight with her husband,  her sister became concerned. David told her that she had left him and gone to Chicago. He also said  that he was going there, too,  to find her. Susan's sister and her husband were still worried, so they called law enforcement authorities to investigate.

Cops found that David had left- but not for Chicago, for Singapore and that he had committed a grisly crime.

 When police searched the Lam home, they found two mounds of freshly uprooted dirt and David's mud-covered shoes. About one and a half feet down in the first pile were religious items that relate to Buddhist funeral ceremonies.

In the second pile, cops say they found Susan's remains in a trash bag.

Police say there are many clues that link David Lam to his wife's murder, such as the necktie she was strangled with and the distinct way it was tied, the bags used to dispose of her body and the masking tape used to secure the bags.

End Of The Line For Lam

David Lam, a man accused of killing his wife and burying her in a shallow grave in their  Southern California home in 2005, was arrested on Bantam Island, Indonesia on November 17, 2007.  Lam's arrest marks the end of a two year search that involved the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office, FBI, FBI legal attaches in Singapore and Jakarta, and the Indonesian National Police.

Authorities say that Lam most likely fled the United States shortly after his wife's murder.  They believe that he flew to Singapore and then to Indonesia in September of 2005.  Shortly thereafter, an Unlawful Flight To Avoid Prosecution (UFAP) warrant was issued as well as a state warrant charging Lam with murder. 

In a press release, the FBI says that Lam was returned to the United States immediately after his arrest.  They also claim that the federal government dismissed the UFAP warrant and turned Lam over to Los Angeles Sheriff's deputies to face prosecution in Los Angeles.