A New York man is accused of stealing the ashes of a Pennsylvania woman’s daughter and holding them for ransom for thousands of dollars.
On June 12 around 5:40 p.m., Upper Moreland police responded to a home in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, for a report of a theft. They were met by a woman who accused 30-year-old Nuo Chen of Flushing, New York, of entering her home and stealing an urn that contained the ashes of her deceased daughter.
The woman told investigators Chen worked at her nail salon in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. According to the woman, Chen began acting erratically toward customers inside the business, and she decided he could no longer work there. Chen continued to show up to the salon and caused problems, according to the criminal complaint.
The woman said that Chen also stayed at her home for two nights over the past two months and that she believed he had taken her house keys and a set of car keys during that time. While the woman allowed Chen to drive her vehicle, he refused to give her back her car keys and house keys when she asked for them, according to investigators.
On June 12, Chen arrived at the salon and asked the woman about money he claimed she owed him, officials said. After the two began to argue, Chen threatened to smash items inside the business and he also pushed the woman, injuring her, according to the criminal complaint. The woman contacted Bensalem police who arrived at the salon and ordered Chen to leave, officials said.
Surveillance video showed that Chen drove the woman’s vehicle in front of her home in Willow Grove that same day shortly after 4:30 p.m., according to the criminal complaint. The video showed him trying to enter the side door of the home before he walked down the driveway with the urn containing the ashes of the woman’s daughter, valued at $2,000, officials said.
The woman told investigators Chen later contacted her, told her he had the ashes and demanded she pay him between $7,000 and $8,000 for him to return them. Chen also threatened that if the woman told police, he would either dump the ashes or flee to New York with the urn and that she would never see her daughter again, according to the criminal complaint.
Chen repeatedly told the woman to go back to the Bensalem nail salon so that they could work out the debt he believed she owed him, officials said.
As investigators continued to speak with the woman, Chen contacted her again and once again threatened to never return the urn to her if she spoke with police, according to the criminal complaint. Chen also demanded once again that the woman go to the nail salon, officials said. The woman eventually convinced Chen to stay at the nail salon, according to the criminal complaint.
Bensalem police responded to the nail salon to check for Chen and the woman’s vehicle, officials said. As they responded, they received a report of an alarm at the business. When police arrived, they found Chen leaving the nail salon with a red shopping bag, officials said. The bag contained the ashes of the woman’s daughter, according to the criminal complaint.
Chen was taken into custody and admitted to police that he stole the urn, according to the criminal complaint. He was charged with burglary, criminal trespass, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and theft by extortion.
Chen is being held in Montgomery County Prison. Online court records don’t list an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
