Police: Robber was murder-suicide suspect

A Millbrae couple who were robbed at gunpoint in October said police have told them the suspect who robbed them is the same man who killed a San Mateo mother two days before Thanksgiving.

Millbrae police last week closed their investigation into whether the suspect, Raymond Gee, of the Oct. 21 home invasion robbery was the same man who killed 24-year-old Loan Kim Nguyen before taking his own life at Nguyen’s home in San Mateo, Millbrae police Inspector Lou Landini said.

"We have conducted an investigation that has led us to believe we need to look no further for another suspect,” Landini said.

Millbrae resident Jean Kimball, who arrived home with her 2-year-old grandson the morning of Oct. 21 to find her husband handcuffed to a towel rack and a man standing in the hallway with a gun, said there were a number of similarities between her family’s experience and the incident in San Mateo.

She said the man was in their home from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.

"He was here for such a long time,” she said. During that time, he "told us a lot,” she added.

Kimball said the man was "very, very desperate for money... He was a very desperate individual who needed to get money to save his life.”

The man reportedly left the home at the end of the day without shooting anyone.

The tragic Hobart Avenue murder-suicide, however, resulted in a shootout between 22-year-old Raymond Gee and police, and had Nguyen rushing her children out a window while Gee fired at her from the next room over, police said.

On the morning of Nov. 25, Gee snuck into Nguyen’s house on Hobart Avenue in San Mateo as her husband left for work.

Gee positioned himself inside the second floor of their home and had with him items such as handcuffs, pepper spray and muscle relaxers, according to San Mateo police Capt. Kevin Raffaelli.

When she learned of his presence in the home, Nguyen, whose 1- and 3-year-old children were home with her, text messaged her husband that she was being robbed at gunpoint, according to Raffaelli.

Officers responded to the house and attempted to enter, but Gee shot at them with a handgun, narrowly missing the officers, according to police.

Nguyen barricaded herself and her children inside a bedroom and passed her children through a window to officers outside, Raffaelli said.

As she was handing her children to the officers, Gee went to an adjoining bathroom and, through a small window, saw what was happening. He then fired seven shots through the wall at Nguyen and her children, Raffaelli said.

SWAT team members returned fire as her children were rushed to safety, police said.

Once the officers made entry into the house, they found Nguyen with a handcuff on one wrist, and suffering from three gunshot wounds to the back, Raffaelli said.

She was rushed to Stanford Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, Raffaelli said.

Gee was found dead in the bathroom suffering a single gunshot wound to the head, Raffaelli said.

Forensic results conclude the gunshots sustained by Gee and Nguyen came from Gee’s gun, Raffaelli said.

Landini said Millbrae police closed their investigation into the robbery Jan. 7.

Kimball said Wednesday that although the situation is "tragic,” she and her husband are relieved to have the case closed.

"(This) gives the situation closure for us, which is peace of mind,” she said. "When you’re robbed, you lose your peace of mind.”