SAN FRANCISCO, CA – In the quiet, tree-lined neighborhood of Westwood Park, a horrific discovery has shattered the tranquil facade, revealing a devastating story of financial collapse and ultimate despair. Last week, police found four members of a Vietnamese-American family deceased in their home in what investigators now suspect was a murder-suicide driven by overwhelming debt and a series of crushing business failures.
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| Ocheltree and Truong's home in San Francisco. Photo: SFC |
The victims were identified as Thomas Ocheltree, 57; his wife, Paula Truong, 52; and their two young daughters, Alexandra, 12, and Mackenzie, 9. The case has stunned a community that knew Truong as a "very dynamic and successful" entrepreneur, a vibrant immigrant who had built a local coffee empire from the ground up.
However, behind the scenes, the family was caught in a devastating financial spiral. According to public records and media reports, a cascade of business losses, mounting loans, and ultimately, the foreclosure of their family home, may have pushed them to a breaking point.
A Picture of Success, A Reality of Ruin
Paula Truong, who emigrated from Vietnam, married Thomas Ocheltree in 2006. She embodied the immigrant success story. In 2019, she founded Orbit Coffee, a brand dedicated to sharing her vision of Vietnamese coffee. The business quickly grew to four locations in Oakland and San Jose, also selling popular items like donuts and Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches. A tax accountant who worked with her for 15 years described her as a tireless and accomplished businesswoman.
Her husband, Thomas, was also involved in several ventures, listing his wife as a "partner" in his auto repair shop, Zentrum Motors, and a graphic design firm. In 2014, they purchased their three-bedroom home on Monterey Boulevard for nearly $1.14 million, cementing their place in the fabric of the city.
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| An Orbit Coffee location in Oakland in 2019. Photo: Yahoo News |
But the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to be the turning point. In late 2020, Truong acquired a convenience store near their home for $155,000, hoping to pivot its offerings to wine, beer, and Orbit Coffee products. The venture failed. "They had to keep raising prices and lost all the local customers," said the store's former owner.
By 2019, Truong had already taken on over $2.7 million in loans to fuel her businesses. As losses mounted, the debt became insurmountable. By 2023, all four Orbit Coffee locations had permanently closed.
The financial blows accelerated this year. In February, the family received a notice of foreclosure on their home. They fought to delay it, but the house was sold at a public auction for over $2 million in October. The sale came after the couple took out a massive second mortgage of $2.24 million in March 2022. Earlier, in January, Discover Bank sued Truong for nearly $18,000 in unpaid credit card debt, with a court ruling against her in April.
The Final, Chilling Days
The grim discovery was made by Thomas Ocheltree's brother, Robert. After not hearing from his brother for six days, he went to the house on October 6th. Paula Truong answered the door but did not let him in, claiming Thomas was golfing and had lost his phone. Robert noted that all the curtains were drawn.
The next day, October 7th, he received a chilling text message from Paula. "He's not himself," she wrote, referring to her husband. "Me and the kids are very scared."
On the morning of October 8th, Robert called the police for a welfare check. Officers arrived, knocked on the door, but left when no one answered. Unsettled, Robert returned to the home himself. At 1:30 PM, he broke a window with pliers to enter the house. Inside, he found the bodies of his brother, his sister-in-law, and his two nieces.
According to reports, Mr. Ocheltree and his two daughters were found in bed with unusual signs, including foam coming from their mouths. Ms. Truong was found hanged in the garage.
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| Offerings left by people in front of the house of Ocheltree and Truong. Photo: SF Standard |
A Community in Mourning
The tragedy has left neighbors and relatives reeling. "They were a completely normal, warm family," said neighbor Evan Bloom. Others described the couple as friendly, if a bit quiet.
The family of Thomas Ocheltree, however, drew a sharp line in their grief. "We are heartbroken," a relative told ABC 7. "Thomas Ocheltree and his beautiful daughters were the true victims. They had nothing to do with this tragedy."
The San Francisco Police Department's Homicide Detail is leading the investigation, working to piece together the final, desperate moments of a family whose American dream ended in an unimaginable nightmare.
