Hoang Van Nguyen, a 49-year-old Asian/Pacific Islander man who worked as a cook at the Bac Nam restaurant, was found dead inside his Chinatown apartment at 175 North Hotel Street on December 29, 2015. Officers discovered his body at about 9:30 a.m. that Tuesday. An autopsy determined he had been assaulted and strangled, and detectives reclassified the case as murder in the second degree and opened a homicide investigation.

Police said Nguyen was seen in the neighborhood in the days before his death; Honolulu police listed his last sighting on the evening of December 24, while CrimeStoppers later reported he was last seen alive on Sunday, December 27, near North Hotel Street and River Street. Investigators described the assault as targeted inside his residence rather than a random street encounter and circulated a description of a possible suspect: an African American man in his 30s to 40s, about 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet tall and 160 to 180 pounds, wearing a collared shirt, black slacks and dress shoes, possibly linked to a newer white sedan. No arrests have been announced and the case remains open with the Honolulu Police Department Cold Case Unit.

If anyone saw Nguyen in late December 2015 or has information about the person described, please come forward.