Victim's Son: We Were Always Suspicious

Ariel Cortez Ayala always knew there was something suspicious about the man dating his mother, Angelina.

But he never could have imagined that the man, Dung V. Tran, would become a prime suspect in the murder of his mother, who on Sunday was , left alone in a vehicle on Merrick Road in Lynbrook. and charged with murder in the second degree.

"There were a couple of circumstances that led us to believe that this man was lying because of the way that he was ... the things that was asking for from my mom," Ariel said.

According to Ariel, he could often hear Tran yelling in the background when Ariel was speaking to his mother on the phone. Tran also asked Ayala to open a bank account for him and to help him pay a cell phone bill, even though Tran had previously said the phone had been prepaid, Ariel said.

"It was always money, but it never made sense," Ariel said. "Those were the telltale signs that we believed this man definitely fishy."

Ayala herself had her suspicions about Tran, Ariel recalled. But his mother was a kind and genuine person, he added, and she still welcomed him into her home, cooking for him and helping him with money. In this instance, it was Angelina's kind nature, Ariel believes, that unfortunately led to her murder.

"She made the mistake of being herself," Ariel said. "Too kind."

Ariel said he plans on sitting in on Tran's trial. He wants to know the details of what happened to his mother.

"I really want to know and I want to see him face to face," Ariel said. "I do not fear him. I just want to ingrate the image of his face in my mind.

"We have 100 percent faith in the American justice system and God that justice will be served," he added, "and that this monster will be punished with what he deserves."