$10K Reward Announced for Info on Cambodian Immigrant's Stabbing Death

By City News Service

The Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a $10,000 reward for information leading to whoever fatally stabbed a Cambodian immigrant in her Long Beach home in 2009.

Leam Sovanasy, a 76-year-old grandmother to 20 and great-grandmother to six, was repeatedly stabbed in her chest Jan. 31, 2009, in her home in the 1400 block of Peterson Avenue and found dead by family members, according to police.

“(Sovanasy) was a Cambodian immigrant, who survived the Khmer Rouge regime, only to be violently murdered in her Long Beach home,” according to a statement by the Long Beach Police Department.

In a plea to the public on July 23, detectives said they received new information on a car seen in the area on or around the day of the murder. It was described as a white, early 1990s, four-door Chevrolet Caprice Classic.

The description of the car, as well as a sketch of the suspect, was gleaned from police handing out informational fliers door-to-door, Long Beach police Sgt. Erik Herzog said.

“But we still need a witness to come forward,” he said.

Supervisor Don Knabe recommended the reward as an incentive to witnesses, who can remain anonymous.

Anyone with more information was asked to call Long Beach police Detectives Teryl Hubert or Mark Bigel at (562) 570-7244.