Cops: Killer took a nap in victim's apt. after murder

After strangling the life out of Thomas Hoban in his Clifton Heights apartment Saturday night, Quy Pham curled up on the victim's floor and took a nap, according to police.

Pham, 35, may have been calm enough to fall asleep after the killing, but he awoke to a nightmare when, despite his claims of self-defense, police charged him with murder and related offenses on Sunday.

According to the arrest affidavit, Pham was out bar hopping on Saturday night when he stopped in to Tailgaters Sports Bar on Baltimore Avenue in Clifton Heights and met Hoban. Police said it's unclear whether the two were previously acquainted.

Pham went home with Hoban, to his apartment on East Broadway Avenue, but police don't know why because Pham claims he was so drunk he doesn't remember, said Clifton Heights Police Chief Walter Senkow.

Once they entered the apartment, Pham claims that Hoban turned off the lights and said "I'm going to kill you," according to the affidavit. A fight ensued and Pham choked Hoban to death with his bare hands, but not before putting his fingers so far up the victim's nose that blood poured out and soaked Phams's shirt and shorts, Senkow said.

Pham then called 911 three times, according to police. The first time he said he needed police but didn't know where he was and the second and third calls were hangups, Senkow said. Police were not dispatched for any of those calls.

After the phone calls, Pham fell asleep on Hoban's apartment floor, with the victim's lifeless body still inside. When he awoke, Pham told a neighbor what happened and that man called police to the scene.

When authorities arrived, Pham was soaked in blood and told police "I killed him, I had to protect myself," according to the affidavit.

Senkow declined to detail why police aren't buying Pham's self-defense claims, except to say that the charges were approved by the Delaware County District Attorney's Office.

Pham has three prior convictions for driving under the influence of intoxicants and one for drug possession.