April 27, 2021
FORT WAYNE, Indiana—Shocking details are emerging of how 55-year-old Shane V. Nguyen was murdered, just two days shy of his 56th birthday. He was the Vietnamese man who went missing last Friday and was the subject of a Silver Alert early Sunday morning.
21-year-old Mathew Cramer and 20-year-old Jacob Carreon-Hamilton were arrested in the death and subsequent dismemberment of Nguyen, according to CBS15.
According to an affidavit released Tuesday, a Fort Wayne Police officer spotted a “suspicious vehicle” behind a building early Sunday morning. He went to investigate and saw a black van driving away. The officer looked up the license plate and saw that it was registered to Shane Nguyen, who was the subject of a Silver Alert two days before.
Authorities tried stopping the van and a high-speed chase soon ensued. Police decided to stop the chase due to its dangerous high speeds. The van eventually crashed into the backyard of a home off Forest Park Blvd., reports to CBS15.
Police discovered the dismembered body of Nguyen in black plastic trash bags, according to the probable cause affidavit.
The Official GoFundMe page for Shane V. Nguyen can be accessed by clicking HERE
The Allen County Coroner’s Office ruled Shane Nguyen died from blunt force trauma to the head and ruled his death a homicide. Upon further search of the van, detectives found receipts from Goshen stores that listed items including tarps, a hacksaw, hacksaw blades, a plastic tub, two shovels, and a large knife.
Authorities also gathered surveillance footage from the stores that showed all three male suspects buying the items. A witness also identified one of the men as Carreon-Hamilton. The security footage also showed the suspects driving in Nguyen’s black Honda Odyssey van.
Detectives also found a picture of Cramer on social media that showed him at a storage facility along North Coliseum Blvd in Fort Wayne, according to CBS15.
Upon arriving at the storage facility, detectives found a blood-stained tarp with a large knife on it, along with other items. From initial evidence, authorities believe Nguyen was dismembered in the storage unit.
Cramer told police he asked Nguyen for a ride from Elkhart back to Fort Wayne and that he actually planned to kill Nguyen before they reached Fort Wayne, reports CBS15.
Once arriving in Fort Wayne, Cramer put Nguyen in a chokehold until he was unconscious. Cramer then slammed Nguyen’s head on the pavement. At that point, he pulled the body into the storage unit and “completed killing” Nguyen.
Once killing Nguyen, Cramer left his body inside the storage unit and drove back to Goshen to buy items with Carreon-Hamilton and another man—identified as Cody Clements.
Mathew Cramer is charged with Murder, Resisting Law Enforcement, and Abuse of a Corpse. Jacob Carreon-Hamilton is charged with Assisting a Criminal, Resisting Law Enforcement, and Abuse of a Corpse.
No charges have been filed against Clements yet.
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