THE LEDGER-STAR
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 1, 1994 TAG: 9407010598
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Police were combing a small bar in the city's Pembroke section this morning, searching for clues in what is thought to be the largest multiple slaying in Virginia Beach history.
``There are some things about the crime scene itself that fit together,'' Virginia Beach police spokesman Lou Thurston said as authorities began their investigation of the fatal shootings of four people at the Witchduck Inn.
A 4-year-old boy was found sleeping in an office area of the bar. The child had not been harmed ``and was apparently oblivious to whatever was going on,'' Thurston said.
The child was in the rear of the establishment, which Thurston described as ``your typical blue collar-type neighborhood bar,'' complete with signs advertising billiards tournaments and daily home-cooked lunch specials.
Thurston said the four shooting victims - three men and a woman - all were found in the bar and dining area at the front of the inn, which is in a strip mall called the Pembroke Crossing Shopping Center.
Two of the victims were declared dead at the scene. One died a short time later at Sentara Bayside Hospital, and the fourth was declared dead an hour later at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
The victims were identified as Lamvan Son, 41, of the 900 block of Summerwind Road, Virginia Beach, the owner of the bar; a waitress, Karen C. Rounds, 31, of the 4100 block of Marblehead Drive, Virginia Beach; a cook, Wendel G. Parrish Jr., 32, of the 4800 block of Peach Creek Lane, Virginia Beach; and a customer, Abdel Aziz Gren, 34, of the 700 block of Severn Drive, Virginia Beach.
The victims were discovered by a patron who found the front door locked upon his arrival shortly before midnight, Thurston said. The patron, realizing that the bar was supposed to stay open until 2 a.m., went around to the back door, which was open, and he found the bodies inside. The 911 call was placed at 11:59 p.m.
``People here are asking about robbery as one possibility,'' Thurston said, adding that other motives also were being considered.
Patrons of the bar said Son, the owner, was a former member of the South Vietnamese Army.
They said he opened the bar about two months ago. It featured oldies music and a laidback atmoshpere.
The inn used to be called Mudbones and featured a rock 'n' roll music.
Mark Beck, 35, who lives in the Aragona Village area, said the bar was ``basically just like Cheers on TV. It was one of the cleanest establishments I've ever seen. Everybody knows everybody else.'' ILLUSTRATION: JOHN C. BELL PHOTOS
Police gather at the Witchduck Inn in Pembroke Crossing Shopping
Center.
Seen through the Venetian blinds of a window, the body of one of the
four victims lies on the counter under a dartboard before being
removed from the bar early this morning.
KEYWORDS: MURDER SHOOTING by CNB