This content was published: April 15, 1999. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
PCC Hosts Gripping Documentary "Letters to Thien"
Photos and story by James Hill
The horrific details behind the kicking, stabbing and eventual murder of 24-year-old Thien Minh Ly by two men on the tennis courts of Tustin (Calif.) High School in 1996 are enough to turn even the most settled of stomachs.
What may be even more nauseating is that these details came from one of the alleged killers himself in an almost celebratory letter documenting the events that January 29.
Both the murder and the chilling letter that followed are the subject of a powerful documentary by acclaimed director and Jesuit High School graduate Trac Minh Vu, "Letters to Thien." This film is being shown for free at several Portland Community College locations on April 26 and 27, May 11 and May 14.
On Monday, April 26, the film will be shown at the PCC Southeast Center, 2850 S.E. 82nd, in Room 155 at 10 a.m.; and in the Forum Theater at the Rock Creek Campus, 17705 N.W. Springville Road, at 6:30 p.m. On Tuesday, April 27, the film will be shown in the Rock Creek Forum Theater at 10 a.m.; and at 1 p.m. at the PCC Central Portland Workforce Training Center,1626 S.E. Water Ave., in Room 302. On Tuesday, May 11, "Letters" will be shown in Room 122 of Terrell Hall on the Cascade Campus, 705 N. Killingsworth, at 7:30 p.m. The Friday, May 14 showing of the film will be held at PCC’s Portland Metropolitan Workforce Training Center, 5600 N.E. 42nd, at 10 a.m., in Room 104.
In addition to the grisly details surrounding the murder, the film examines the subjects of racial intolerance and the public pressure required to have this killing declared a hate crime. Both men convicted for Thien Minh Ly’s murder, the letter’s author, Gunner Lindberg, and his accomplice, Domenic Christopher, are serving time in prison for their crime. Lindberg was sentenced to death, while Christopher is serving 25 years to life.
For more information on this film and the PCC show times, call Kendi Esary at 978-5781.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »