http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0122-nightclub-beating-20140122,0,3486011.story#axzz2r8Pr7HOO
Update
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/arrest-made-beating-death-kim-pham-santa-ana-nightclub-article-1.1590642
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/two-women-found-guilty-in-deadly-california-nightclub-beating/
Kim Pham, friends and family agreed, would be the last person in the world to end up the victim of street violence.
But in the predawn hours Saturday, the 23-year-old was so severely beaten in a fight outside a trendy Santa Ana nightclub that she was still unconscious when the police arrived. By Tuesday, she was dead after being taken off life support.
Santa Ana police have arrested a woman and continue to seek four other people in connection with the violent confrontation, which one friend said may have been triggered when Pham unintentionally walked in front of a camera as another group posed for a photo.
The Chapman University graduate, who aspired to one day host a talk show, hadn't wanted to go out the night she and two friends arrived at the Crosby, a popular restaurant in Santa Ana's historic district that becomes a lounge on weekends.
As they waited in line outside, an argument broke out between Pham's friends and another group. Police had few details but said the two groups did not know each other and that Pham was hit and stomped in the melee. An eight-second video of the incident shows one person kicking at something on the ground as a crowd gathers.
"She wanted to stay in and texted us to come over," said Viviane Dao, who said she'd been one of Pham's closest friends since ninth grade. "But she was convinced to head out.
Update
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/arrest-made-beating-death-kim-pham-santa-ana-nightclub-article-1.1590642
UpdateA second woman has been arrested in the death of the 23-year-old woman who was beaten to death outside a Santa Ana, Calif., nightclub.
The 27-year-old woman was arrested Friday, the second captured in relation to the death of Kim Pham, a Westminster woman who died of blunt force trauma to the head early last Saturday morning.
Another woman, 25-year-old Vanesa Tapia Zavala, has been charged with murder and held in lieu of $1 million bail after her arrest earlier this week.
Pham’s friends said the argument started early Saturday morning as the woman was waiting in line to get into The Crosby. Pham allegedly walked in front of a group of revelers who were trying to take a picture.
A verbal argument quickly escalated into a physical altercation. Pham was reportedly knocked onto the ground while tussling with another woman. A third person came onto the scene and kicked Pham in the temple. She immediately slumped to the floor, which caused the fighters to flee.
"One kick and she was out cold," Jason, a witness, told the Daily News. "No one touched her after that."
Jason, a witness, told The News Pham threw the first punch in the brutal altercation. Jason, who told The News he was waiting in line to get into The Crosby but was not associated with the brawling groups, said he didn’t know what sparked the fight.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/two-women-found-guilty-in-deadly-california-nightclub-beating/
A California jury has convicted two women of kicking a third woman to death during a fight outside a California nightclub.
Candace Brito, 27, and Vanesa Zavala, 26, were found guilty Thursday of voluntary manslaughter and assault for the Jan. 18 fatal attack on 23-year-old Annie Kim Pham in Santa Ana. They were acquitted of the more serious charge of second-degree murder.
Prosecutors in Orange County said Brito and Zavala kicked Pham in the head after she was knocked down outside The Crosby nightclub. Cellphone video captured the brawl.
At trial, defense attorneys said Pham started the fight after another group bumped into her and her friends outside the club. They argued that Pham could have died from punches or kicks she received from others.
CBS Los Angeles reports sentencing has been set for Sept. 12, and that both women face up to 11 years in state prison.
Both sides agreed the manslaughter conviction was fair.