Jury convicts man of 2012 quintuple murder

A San Francisco Superior Court jury Monday found Binh Thai Luc guilty of murder for the grisly slayings of five people in a home in The City’s Ingleside District in 2012.

The jury announced its verdict late Monday morning after starting deliberations on Nov. 29. Luc was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder as well as attempted robbery and burglary charges. He was acquitted of robbery charges.

Prosecutors accused Luc, 41, of fatally beating, stabbing and choking three women and two men, all family members, at a home at 16 Howth St. near City College of San Francisco on March 12, 2012.

Those killed were identified as Vincent Lei, 32, Lei’s father and mother, Hua Shun Lei, 65 and Wan Yi Xu, 62, his wife, Chia Huei Chu, 30, and his sister, Ying Xue Lei, 37.

Prosecutor Eric Fleming said Luc’s DNA, blood and fingerprints were found in the house, and Vincent Lei’s blood was found on his blue jeans and on the driver’s seatbelt in Luc’s car.

Luc, a Vietnamese citizen who works as a plumber and went by the nickname “Ping,” was a longtime friend of Vincent Lei.

During the trial, Fleming suggested the murders could have been motivated by robbery, and presented evidence that Luc had lost money gambling and needed money to pay rent after receiving an eviction notice.

Defense attorney Mark Goldrosen said that the evidence showed Luc had been present in the house at some point, but did not prove either robbery or homicide.

He suggested that the murders might have been carried out by gangland-style enforcers instead, and argued that more than one person may have been involved.