Man found guilty of 2015 triple homicide of two adults, 2-month-old baby

Related Video: The Justice Files: A daughter’s anguish (December 2020)

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A man has been convicted by a jury for the triple homicide of a woman, her 2-month-old granddaughter, and a male tenant at the residence.

Alexander Hung Tran was found guilty of three counts of aggravated murder by a jury today, Aug. 28, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office (DA) shared.

“This horrific crime shocked not only our community, but people around the world. The wheels of justice moved slowly in this case. Initially, the defendant was found to be legally incompetent in 2016 and restore to competency in 2020,” District Attorney Sim Gill is quoted in the release.

In 2015, Tran was living in a Salt Lake City house purchased by his mother. On Sept. 14, 2015, Tran told her that a man, a woman, and two children were tenants in the upstairs portion of the home. The mother “indicated that she did not want other people in the house,” and Tran claimed that they would not leave. She replied that she would start the eviction process.

Days later, on Sept. 18, Tran called his mother and stated that the people were gone. That same day, Heike Poike would not pick up her grandson from school. A police welfare check was requested, and officers found that nobody was answering the door, but they could see a tarp through the window.

Police walked around to the back of the house and found that the back door was open. Officers announced themselves and entered the home when they did not receive a response. Inside, Dakota Smith, Heike Poike, and Poike’s 2-month-old granddaughter were found deceased.

Tran was found in the basement of the residence and stated, “I’m putting down the gun.” Police recovered a .22 caliber handgun from him, and several spent casings matching the firearm were found upstairs.

According to the DA’s Office, Poike’s daughter and her two children moved in with Tran. Soon after, Heike Poike moved in to assist with childcare while her daughter worked. Tran reportedly showed a romantic interest in Poike’s daughter and began showing an “escalating obsession” soon after.

Tran told Poike’s daughter that he “wanted to marry her, have a child with her, and that she had saved his life by coming into his home.” Poike’s daughter was arrested and incarcerated soon after, but Tran continued his obsession. He purchased her booking photo multiple times.

On Oct. 1, 2015, the DA’s Office filed charges against Tran, but he was found incompetent to stand trial by state medical personnel in December 2016. Four years later, in December 2020, he was found competent to stand trial.

In 2022, the defense argued that police did not have the right to enter the home, which the judge denied, but the defense appealed to the Utah Supreme Court. The Utah Supreme Court sided with the judge, but another motion to suppress was filed, which was partially granted in February 2025.

Finally, after nearly 10 years of waiting, Tran faced a jury trial, where he was convicted of the three murders. His sentencing is set for Nov. 7, 2025.

“Today’s jury verdict shows that no matter how long it takes, this office will fight for accountability from those who victimize the people of our community. We hope that the loved ones of the victims in this case feel like they have received some measure of justice, though it may not be perfect justice; If it were perfect justice, their loved ones would still be with them today,” Gill is quoted in the release.

In 2020, ABC4’s Marcos Ortiz spoke with Brittany Sessions, Poike’s other daughter and the 2-month-old’s aunt. At that time, she shared that she and her family were still struggling with the loss and lack of closure.

“There are days that I think of her and I’ll just break down, and there are days that I’ll think of things we used to do and that will make me happy,” Sessions expressed in 2020. “We were mad that we couldn’t get any closure.”

“We thank your prosecutors, Morgan Vedejs and Josh Graves, for their tireless work ensuring this guilty verdict. We appreciate Lorianne Szendre and Heather Taylor from our Survivor and Victim Support Services division for working with the families of the victims throughout the criminal justice process. Lastly, we want to thank detectives at the Salt Lake City Police Department for their impeccable investigation that led to this successful prosecution,” DA Sim Gill concluded in the release.