Radnor police question man in his wife's 1993 death

Chun "Tony" Tong sat at the dining room table in his Devon apartment Tuesday, sipping coffee and fighting back tears as he discussed the new push to find his wife's killer.

"I am very happy" police reopened the case after 20 years, Tong said. "I want to know who killed her."

Tong was at work on June 26, 1993, when Jennifer Tong's body was found in the backseat of her car, with a gunshot to the head.

Radnor Township police announced last month that they had reopened the case, saying they were hopeful new advances in fingerprint and DNA technology might yield leads. According to a source, one of the first things they also did was call in Tong for an interview and polygraph.

Radnor Police Superintendent William Colarulo confirmed the lie-detector test. But he would not discuss its results or the interview with Tong, except to say: "I feel that there were inconsistencies in his version of what transpired the day of his wife's murder."

Jennifer Tong, a part-time waitress at Olga's Kitchen in the King of Prussia mall, was last seen by her husband on that Saturday morning at their Marple home before he went to work, police have said. Her body was found in a kneeling position in the backseat of her 1993 Toyota Camry in the 100 block of Spring Mill Road.

At the time, the couple owned Lee Heng, a Chinese restaurant in the Manoa Shopping Center in Havertown. Their children - then 11 and 14 - were spending the summer with cousins in New York.

Police have said Jennifer Tong was most likely targeted and abducted before she died. She was still wearing a gold necklace, but police were unable to find her purse and $1,800 in restaurant receipts she was expected to deposit that day.

They also say more than one person was probably involved in her slaying.

Tong's comments to an Inquirer reporter Tuesday marked the first time he publicly talked about his wife's killing.

He speaks very little English and appeared confused by some of the questions. He does not have a lawyer. He said he does not remember much from 20 years ago - and has no idea why someone would kill his wife.

"I don't know who killed my wife," said Tong, 57. "Maybe police can find somebody."

Tong said both he and Jennifer Tong were born in Hong Kong. They met in Philadelphia through their jobs in the restaurant industry. They enjoyed bowling and movies with friends. The couple married in 1978, he said.

Since her death, he has remarried and continues to work in the restaurant industry, Tong said.

Still, he said, he misses her and hopes to get answers about her death. "I just want to know," Tong said.

Colarulo said Tong has never once asked investigators about the case. "If he is so concerned, how come he has never reached out to the Radnor police?" the superintendent said.

The Citizens' Crime Commission has offered a $10,000 reward for information in the case.

Investigators are waiting for the test results on physical evidence that has been resubmitted to the lab, Colarulo said.

"We are going to be relentless until I am satisfied we did everything to give this family closure," he said.

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@MariSchaefer