SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 28, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — Nearly a decade after a triple murder in the Rose Park neighborhood of Salt Lake City, a Third-District Court has convicted Alexander Hung Tran of three counts of first-degree felony aggravated murder.
Tran, 42, was convicted of the Sept. 18. 2015 murders of Heike Poike, 50; her 2-month-old granddaughter, Lyrik Poike; and Dakota Smith, 28.
Salt Lake City police responded to the residence that day on a welfare check after Poike failed to pick up her grandson from school.
Officers got no response to a knock on the door, where Poike lived with her daughter and two grandchildren, says a news release issued by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.
Officers looked through the window and saw a tarp on the living room floor.
Heike Poike, Lyrik Mi Amor Poike and Dakota Smith. Photos: obituaries
Police enter after getting no response
Officers walked around the house and found the back door wide open, the news release says.
“The police announced themselves and received no response. They then went through the back door. Inside the home, police found the deceased bodies of Dakota Smith, Heike Poike, and a two-month-old Lyrik Poike.
“Officers found the defendant in the basement of the residence, and he said, ‘I’m putting down the gun.’ Police located the .22 caliber handgun on the floor where the defendant indicated he put it down. Several spent .22 caliber casings were located throughout the upstairs living room.”
Tran made comments about his mother, according to information released at the time, saying his mother “made me do it. I’m not saying that I didn’t do it.”
His mother told officers she had purchased the house where Tran lived.
“She told them that on Sept. 14, 2015, the defendant [Tran] had told her that a man, a woman, and two children were staying in the upstairs portion of the home. Ms. Santos [Tran’s mother] indicated she did not want other people in the house, and [Tran] told her they would not leave. Ms. Santos instructed [Tran] to inform the people to leave and that she would initiate the eviction process.
“At noon on the day of the murders, [Tran] called his mom and told her the people upstairs were gone,” the release says.
“During the trial, it came out that Poike’s daughter, and two children had been given an opportunity to move in with the defendant,” the release says. “Heike Poike moved in shortly thereafter to help with the children so her daughter A.P. could work. The defendant did not meet A.P. face-to-face until she had lived at the home for a few days, but when he met her, he quickly showed a romantic interest in her.
“[Tran] sent text messages to her showing an escalating obsession. A.P. responded to the messages, feeling like she needed to be nice because he was allowing her family to live with him. [Tran] told A.P. he wanted to marry her, have a child with her, and that she had saved his life by coming into his home.”
Path to trial
The DA’s Office filed charges in the case on Oct. 1, 2015, but months later, Tran was found to be incompetent to stand trial. Tran was declared competent in December of 2020, but his defense counsel filed a motion to suppress in 2022, arguing that police did not have the right to enter the residence, the news release says.
When the judge denied the motion, it was appealed to the Utah Supreme Court. In June of 2024, defense filed another motion, this time to suppress statements made by the defendant. The judge partially granted that motion in the case in February 2025.
The case went to trial this week, and the guilty verdict came Thursday. Sentencing is set for Nov. 7 of this year.
“This horrific crime shocked not only our community, but people around the world,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “The wheels of justice moved slowly in this case. Initially, the defendant was found to be legally incompetent in 2016 and restored to competency in 2020.
“Today’s jury verdict shows that no matter how long it takes, this office will fight for accountability from those who victimize the people of our community.”
