A man and woman linked to the fatal beating of a man in California have both been arrested in Houston.
Their arrests were announced Wednesday by the Anaheim Police Department.
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Brittany Vidal, 37, was arrested on Sept. 2 and charged with accessory to murder. Christopher Do, 35, was arrested the following day and charged with murder. Anaheim authorities said the Houston Police Department assisted with the arrests.
The case stems from a June 15 incident, when 65-year-old Tien Luu was dropped off at a hospital in Garden Grove, California, with injuries consistent with a severe beating. He had arrived in a blue Mercedes-Benz sedan driven by a man wearing a black mask.
Luu was pronounced dead on June 20, and his cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head.
Data from Luu’s cellphone led investigators to an acquaintance who knew a man who drove a blue sedan similar to the one seen at the hospital. Although that man was not the driver, he connected authorities to Vidal and Do, who were in a dating relationship.
Another acquaintance told investigators he had heard that Luu was suspected of flirting with Vidal in front of Do at a “slap house,” a location known for drug deals. The day after the alleged flirting, authorities say Do returned to the residence with a baseball bat and struck Luu in the head eight times.
Do later returned the car to its owner after taking Luu to the hospital, warning him not to drive it because of its connection to the beating, police said.
Cellphone data ultimately linked Vidal to the Houston area. Both she and Do were found at an apartment in the 3000 block of Summer Street in Houston.
On Sept. 9, Do and Vidal were extradited to California to face charges in Luu’s death. They are both being held without bail at the Orange County Jail.