Coworker sought as 'person of interest' in cook's slaying

Homicide detectives Friday said that they were looking for a "person of interest" in Thursday night's slaying of a 54-year-old woman who worked as a cook in a Vietnamese restaurant in South Philadelphia.

Thuong Nguyen was attacked in the basement kitchen at Lee's Cafe & Bistro, 522 Washington Ave., about 9 p.m. She was preparing food at the time with another employee, a man 25 to 30 years old who goes by the name Noel, police said.

Police asked for the public's help in finding Noel, who drives a white SUV.

Chief Inspector Scott Small has said about four employees and five customers were in the restaurant when the killing occurred in the small kitchen.

Small said there were signs of a violent struggle. Kitchen equipment had been knocked over and had fallen on Nguyen's body, he said.

"She had bruises to her face, pretty severe bruises," he said. "Her throat was sliced pretty deeply. There was a lot of blood."

The sit-down part of the corner restaurant is on the second floor. A takeout business is on the first.

Police said the restaurant's owner flagged down officers from the Third District and directed them to the basement kitchen. The owner told police that the victim and another employee were working in the kitchen, and that he went to investigate when an order did not arrive within 10 minutes. He found Nguyen on the floor with her throat slashed.

She was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:15 p.m. The other employee was not in the restaurant at the time.

The restaurant was closed Friday.

The block is home to other small businesses that cater to South Philadelphia's Vietnamese, Chinese, and other Asian communities, including a hair salon, a day care, an acupuncturist, and another restaurant. Behind Lee's Cafe is the 1st Oriental Supermarket.

Police said Nguyen lived on Emily Street in South Philadelphia, on a small residential block of two-story rowhouses.

No one answered the door at Nguyen's house Friday morning. The blinds were drawn on the first and second floors.

Neighbors expressed shock and sadness at Nguyen's death, but they said they had not known her well.

"She was very withdrawn from talking to people other than, 'Hello. How are you?' " block captain Vanessa Holman said. "She walked very quickly. . . . She didn't participate in any block events."

The neighbors said they were unsure about Nguyen's family life; some said she lived with an adult son.

Holman said she used to see Nguyen leave home "at the crack of dawn" and return late at night, about 11.

Like Holman, other neighbors said they did not know Nguyen's name or where she worked.

"She was quiet. She stayed to herself," said Eartha Ervin, 46, who has lived on the block for about three years. "She spoke when she saw you."

Leon Bird, 79, who moved next door to Nguyen about a year and a half ago, also described her as quiet.

"She says hello and goodbye," he said.

Anyone with information about Noel is asked to contact the Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334, or dial 911.

shawj@phillynews.com215-854-2592@julieshawphilly

Staff writer Joseph A. Gambardello contributed to this article.