Quadruple murders in Conover, NC

Four members of this family were brutally murdered inside their North Carolina home on March 12, 2009.

Pauline Chao, 18, was one of four victims brutally murdered inside of a Conover, NC home on March 12, 2009. Those who knew Pauline say she was a very positive and compassionate young woman, and she was always willing to help out her fellow students.

20-year-old Melanie Saephan was slain in her Conover home on the morning of March 12, 2009. Teachers and students say she and her younger sister, Pauline, were very much alike -- both were close to one another and said to be extremely upbeat and caring individuals.

Source taken from AMW dot com
Investigators in Conover, N.C. are on foot and searching door-to-door for clues in a community still reeling from the brutal slaying of four people in a home there. Two young women, Pauline Chao and Melanie Saephan, ages 18 and 20, 4-year-old Cody Sae-Chao, and their mother, Lisa, were shot and stabbed to death on Thursday, March 12, 2009. At this point, police still have no clue as to who the suspect may be, and they are trying to figure out why someone would want to wipe out this beautiful family. Investigators say a teenager showed up at the home at around 7 a.m. to pick up Pauline for school. Cops say that’s when the teenager noticed a man, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, standing on the porch of the family home. When he saw the car approaching, he left the porch and walked towards the backyard. Cops say Pauline then walked outside and got into the car with her friend and they drove away. Inside the car, Pauline’s friend said that she saw a man standing on the porch. Investigators say Pauline then called her sister, Melanie, to warn her about the strange man. During the conversation, Melanie said that someone was at the rear door. Cops say Pauline was telling her sister not to open the door, when the call was disconnected. Pauline and her friend turned back around to head back towards the house. When they got there, they decided to both approach the front door and when they knocked, they heard screams inside. Cops say it was the hooded man who opened the front door and he immediately began attacking Pauline. Her friend raced back to the car to get some help. Catawba County Sheriff’s deputies responded quickly, but it was too late: the suspect was gone, and Pauline, her sister, brother and mother were all dead. Police say a gun and knife were found in a nearby backyard, apparently just tossed with no attempt to hide them. That gun and knife are now at a crime lab, and they are hoping to retrieve fingerprints and DNA from the weapon. Investigators say the husband and father was at work when his family was killed. While police say he is devastated over his loss, the small community of Conover is also in pain, shocked over the vicious crime. "This type of crime and the number of victims involved is certainly out of the norm for our community. It is the most heinous series of homicides I have ever encountered," said Sgt. Aaron Turk, Catawba County Sheriff's Office. It's not unlikely that the victim, or all the victims, knew the attacker. Police do not believe this was a random attack. They tell AMW that it's possible the killer planned this ambush, and it appears that the killer knew the family's daily routine and habits.