Man found in unit with Noelle O’Soup’s remains was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant

WARNING: The story contains disturbing details that may not be suitable for all readers. Discretion is advised.

The man who lived with the decomposing remains of two deceased women for months at an ORS unit in Vancouver – before being found dead himself in February – was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for drugging and sexually assaulted a third woman at the time of her death. .

Global News can now identify the man who rented the suite where the remains of Noelle O’Soup and Elma Enan were eventually discovered as Van Chung Pham.

Five days before Pham’s body was discovered on February 23, 2022, he was charged with sexual assault, drug trafficking and overcoming resistance – administering a drug or narcotic agent – in connection with an incident that allegedly occurred on November 19. 2020.

« There was a Canada-wide warrant that was issued as a result of the Vancouver police investigation, » the Vancouver police sergeant said. Steve Addison told Global News on Thursday.

« The person we believe committed these offenses has since died. »

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The coroner did not attend the sudden death scene where Noelle O’Soup’s body was eventually found

Global News can also now report that a young woman, who was alive, was found alive inside Pham’s unit at the Heatley Block on the day her body was discovered. It is not known how long this other woman had been living in or visiting Unit 16.

“She had black hair, short black hair. She walked out, sat here [outside the building]. And then we didn’t hear anything until three months later,” said Chris Seres, whose unit is just across from Pham, of the woman who left Pham’s suite alive. He says she was questioned by officers at the scene.

Several residents and people with intimate knowledge of the discovery of the decomposing remains inside the Pham suite, tell Global News that one of the bodies was discovered in a blue recycling bin, which had been closed with Scotch tape.

After weeks of investigations and interview requests from Global News, this is the first time the Vancouver Police Department has publicly commented on Pham and the allegations made against him at the time of his death.

“What I can tell you is that a man by the name of Van Chung Pham was the subject of a Vancouver police investigation which began in November 2020 and resulted in a number of charges, » Addison said.

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Noelle O’Soup’s remains left behind in Vancouver apartment building for months

The British Columbia Prosecution Service also confirmed the name in an email.

He also revealed that just days before Pham was found dead, the provincial Crown prosecutor charged him with administering drugs or overcoming resistance, as well as trafficking cocaine and heroin.

“The information was reduced by the Crown (based on reliable evidence that the accused is deceased) on March 1, 2022,” confirmed Gordon Comer of the BC Prosecution Service.

The sudden death of Pham, in his forties, is not considered suspicious. The deaths of O’Soup and Enan are being investigated by the Vancouver Police Department’s Major Crime Section.

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Questions remain around the disappearance of Noelle O’Soup

When asked if police were looking at any suspects other than Pham in connection with the suspicious deaths of O’Soup and Enan, Addison did not respond directly, saying only that the investigation was « still open. « .

For neighborhood residents like Candice Norris, who is Indigenous, the thought of any other potential suspects still walking the streets of the Downtown Eastside is haunting.

She said the cases of several young Indigenous women missing and found dead, including Chelsea Poorman, Tatyanna Harrison, Noelle O’Soup and Kwemcexenalqs Manuel-Gottfriedson, remained top of mind.

« I went through Pickton and saw all my friends disappear, » Norris said.

“It breaks my heart that the Aboriginal community is crying out for help. And we are still murdered, raped and missing.