Tag Archives: Helen Zia

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) blog, blog, news, race

Emil Guillermo: In new exclusive interview, Ronald Ebens, Vincent Chin’s killer, denies financial windfall

June 19-23 was the period where we remember the 33rd Anniversary of the brutal beating death of Vincent Chin.  The killer, Ronald Ebens, has never spent a day in prison, but owes the Chin estate an amount that was more than $8 million in 2012 and continues to grow  with interest.

My recent requests for an interview had been unanswered.

But before the anniversary week passed, I made one more attempt to reach Ebens.

And he answered.

I wanted to know if he was sitting on recently received money that should rightfully go to Vincent Chin’s estate.

Click here to read about my new, exclusive  interview with Ebens on the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund blog.

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) blog, blog, diversity, news, race

Emil Guillermo: Estate for Vincent Chin could use help tracking Chin’s killer

Helen Zia, the executor of the estate for Vincent Chin, said it can use some help keeping tabs on Ronald Ebens in Nevada.

Ebens, now 75, is the man who killed Chin in1982 in a disputed hate crime in Michigan.  Ebens plead guilty to a lesser charge and escaped jail time. A civil rights trail convicted Ebens in a subsequent trial in federal court. But that was reversed in appeal. (Read more about the case on the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund blog).

Still, there was  a civil judgment of $1.5 million against Ebens that was won in Michigan. And that had grown to $8 million in 2012.

Zia told me opportunities to collect money are  often missed. Recently,  Ebens was the executor of the estate of a friend, who had just received a portion of a $4 million personal injury settlement.

In general, Zia  fears that too much time has passed to expect much of a recovery of the funds owed.  Time has also meant the Chin case has faded from the public’s memory. (See more of her comments on NBCnews.com).