VIRGINIA BEACH — A 29-year-old man accused of attacking and killing the mother of his child on Valentine’s Day plans to plead not guilty, according to his defense attorney.
Joseph “Joey” Vincent Merlino III was charged with second-degree murder on Feb. 16 in connection to the death of Ellie Mizon Tran, 35. The pair dated for about three years and had a 2-year-old daughter named Jolie, said Diamond Phan, Tran’s best friend of 10 years.
Tran died on Feb. 15 in Sentara Princess Anne Hospital, about a day after she was attacked in her Still Meadow Court driveway.
The Tidewater Chief Medical Examiner’s office is working to find out exactly what killed Tran, but police believe Merlino “touched her in a manner that caused her to be ill,” said Virginia Beach Master Police Officer Tonya Pierce.
Her family said that when Tran was attacked around 8 p.m. on Valentine’s Day she quickly became so sick that she collapsed, couldn’t speak, lost consciousness and needed a breathing tube.
A bond hearing for Merlino was scheduled in Virginia Beach Juvenile Domestic Relations Court on Wednesday, but defense attorney Richard Doummar withdrew the motion minutes after the hearing was scheduled to begin.
Doummar said he is waiting on “scientific evidence” that the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office isn’t currently in possession of. He anticipates having the evidence in the next three weeks, and after reviewing it Merlino might request another bond hearing.
Until then, Doummar said he will continue with the discovery process, a pre-trial procedure in which the prosecution and defense exchange evidence they may present during trial.
Doummar said Merlino, who is currently being held in the Virginia Beach Correctional Center, will plead not guilty. His case is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 7.
“He’s very sad,” Doummar said. “This is a tragedy. Someone’s life was lost, and it obviously wasn’t an accident.”
A group of about 20 friends came to the courthouse to support Tran’s family, who immigrated to America from Vietnam about three years ago to help raise Jolie.
Outside the courthouse, the group carried homemade signs with pictures of Tran, her mother, 64-year-old Oahn Le, and Jolie. The signs read “Justice for Ellie. No Bail. She was murdered.”
The group cheered when the bond hearing was withdrawn.
“It’s a good beginning,” said family friend Ming Truong. “We are on top of the case, and we will keep an eye on this case until the end to make sure there is a fair trial for Ellie Tran.”
Phan, who came to the courthouse with Tran’s parents, said that Tran and Merlino had a tumultuous relationship that centered around control.
During the course of their relationship, Phan said the couple lived together for a few months in Merlino’s Warner Hall Drive home. Tran wanted to move back in with her parents, but Merlino didn’t.
“He wasn’t respectful,” to her parents, Phan said. “They fought a lot when they lived together. He tried to control her.”
Still, Phan advised Tran to try to make it work with Merlino.
“I said ‘Just think about your baby. Try to stay with him so she can have a father and a mother,'” Phan said.
Another friend, Loan Luu, said that Tran called her some nights when she couldn’t sleep because of worry.
“She was so scared of him,” Luu said.
Phan and Luu also said that Valentine’s Day wasn’t the first time Tran had been attacked in recent months.
Police said on Dec. 4, around 7 p.m., an unknown person backed into Tran’s car, exited the car and threw a liquid at her.
Phan and Luu said Tran was leaving her job at KT Nails II on Laskin Road on a Sunday when the unidentified man threw acid at her. They believe he was dressed in women’s clothing and wearing a wig to disguise himself.
Tran turned her face, but the substance burned her hair and she was taken to the hospital.
Mayfield can be reached at [email protected].
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