Remembering the 1991 victims of Wat Prom Kunaram in Arizona

On the 25th anniversary of what has been called the worst mass murder in Arizona history, the Buddhist community held a special ceremony to honor the lives lost.

On August, 1991, nine people including six monks, a novice monk, a nun and an employee of the temple were murdered execution style by two men who robbed the temple for $2,600 in cash and some audio/visual equipment. Johnathan Doody and his accomplice Allesandro Garcia are serving life sentences for the crime.

 The victims included Pairuch Kanthong, the abbott; the monks Surichai Anuttaro, Boochuay Chaiyarach, Chalerm Chantapim, Siang Ginggaeo, and Somsak Sopha; the nun, Foy Sripanpasert; her nephew, Matthew Miller, who was a novice monk; and a temple employee, Chirasak Chirapong.