Pipo Nguyen-Duy, an internationally exhibited artist who taught at Oberlin since 1998, was remembered as a deeply valued teacher and colleague.
OBERLIN, Ohio — Oberlin College students and faculty were mourning longtime photography professor Pipo Nguyen-Duy on Thursday, a day after police found him and his wife shot to death inside an Oberlin home and took Nguyen-Duy’s son into custody.
The deaths have left the small college community confronting the sudden loss of an artist and educator who had taught at Oberlin since 1998. Nguyen-Duy, 64, was a professor of studio art and photography and served as chair of Studio Art. College officials canceled Studio Art classes Thursday while allowing most other classes to continue, and they said opportunities to gather in his memory would be announced.
Nguyen-Duy’s death followed a police investigation that began Wednesday morning away from his home. At about 8:57 a.m., officers responded to the Oberlin College Conservatory parking lot on East College Street to assist firefighters with a vehicle that was smoking and possibly on fire. Police then sought the vehicle’s registered owner and located Daniel Jones, 31, of Ashland, Oregon, at about 10:19 a.m.
Jones was taken into custody without incident, police said. Officers then went to 33 South Pleasant St. at about 10:28 a.m. to check on members of his family. They found Nguyen-Duy dead on the first floor and a woman dead on the second floor. Police said both had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Updated reporting Thursday identified the woman as Nguyen-Duy’s wife, Thi Tran Phong, and described Jones as Nguyen-Duy’s son and Phong’s stepson.
WOIO reported Thursday that Jones faces six counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault and one count of tampering with evidence. He remained in the Lorain County Jail. The charges are allegations, and authorities had not announced a confirmed motive. Police initially described the deaths as believed to be domestic in nature and said there was no continuing threat to the public after the suspect was detained.
The investigation briefly disrupted campus life Wednesday. Oberlin College issued a shelter-in-place order at the request of police, then lifted it after authorities determined there was no danger to students, employees or the surrounding community. The college made counseling and other support services available as word spread that Nguyen-Duy was one of the people killed.
Nguyen-Duy’s path to Oberlin spanned countries and careers. He was born in Hue, Vietnam, and grew up near the demilitarized zone during the Vietnam War. He immigrated to the United States as a political refugee in 1975. Before establishing himself as an artist, he studied economics, lived in New York City and worked outside academia before turning more fully toward photography and studio art.
His work later earned national recognition, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2011, as well as fellowships and grants from arts organizations. Oberlin’s faculty biography said his photography had been exhibited and collected in the United States, Europe, Asia and South America. He also completed artist residencies, including one at Monet’s garden in Giverny, France, and another at the Headlands Center for the Arts in California.
His work remained part of Oberlin’s cultural life at the time of his death. Nguyen-Duy was among the artists included in the college’s 2026 Studio Art staff and faculty exhibition, which opened earlier in October and was scheduled to continue into November. He was also teaching introductory black-and-white photography and an intermediate photography seminar during the fall semester.
College President Carmen Twillie Ambar said Nguyen-Duy had been a cherished colleague and a vibrant presence in classrooms and across campus. She said his passion for photography had touched the Oberlin community over many years. The college had not announced formal memorial arrangements as of Thursday morning but said students, faculty and staff would have opportunities to gather and remember him.
The homicide investigation and criminal case against Jones remain active. Authorities had not released a detailed account of what led to the shootings, and Oberlin College was continuing its normal operations outside the affected Studio Art classes while the campus began grieving Nguyen-Duy’s death.
Author note: Last updated Oct. 29, 2026.