Murder of Trang Phuong Ho
The murder happened on May 28, 1995, in a two‑room suite at Dunster House, Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sinedu Tadesse stabbed her roommate, Trang Phuong Ho, 45 times while Ho slept, and also stabbed Ho’s friend Thao Nguyen, who survived and got help. Tadesse then died by hanging in the suite bathroom. Police and campus investigators concluded there were no other suspects.
Trang Phuong Ho, born in 1974 in Ho Chi Minh City, came to the United States as a boat refugee with her family in 1985. She grew up in the Boston area, attended public schools, and later studied biology at Harvard, hoping to become a doctor. Ho was known for her love of learning, worked at the Dunster House library, and was involved with the Harvard Vietnamese Association.
Sinedu Tadesse, born in 1975 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was a high-achieving student who attended Harvard. She struggled with social isolation and depression, and she wrote letters to strangers seeking friendship. In her diary she described strong feelings of loneliness and even violent thoughts. She and Ho became roommates in college, but their communication faded in their junior year.
Ahead of the killings, there were signs of Tadesse’s distress, including missed exams and clinical appointments. An anonymous envelope sent to Harvard’s newspaper contained a photo of Tadesse and a note about a “very juicy story,” which later was found discarded in the newspaper’s office trash.
In the years after the deaths, investigators and Ho’s family discussed whether Harvard could have done more to help Tadesse. In 1998, Ho’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Harvard and some Dunster House staff. The case was settled out of court. The tragedy led Harvard to expand its counseling staff and make changes to mental health services and student support.
A 1997 book by Melanie Thernstrom criticized how Harvard handled the case, drawing on Tadesse’s diaries to show her deteriorating mental health and the university’s response.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:48 (CET).