Chai Vang


Chai Soua Vang, more commonly known as Chai Vang, is an Hmong-American man who was convicted of first degree intentional homicide, having pleaded self-defense after allegedly being fired upon. Vang, a six-year veteran of the California National Guard, shot eight people while he was trespassing upon a deer hunting group in northern Wisconsin on November 21, 2004; six were killed and two were wounded. The killings were later dubbed the Tree Stand Murders by author David B. Whitehurst.
Vang, who lived in Saint Paul, Minnesota at the time of the shootings, is imprisoned at the Oshkosh Correctional Institution as of 2025.
The killings caused tensions between White and Hmong hunters in Wisconsin, which culminated in the murder of Cha Vang in January 2007.

Biography

Vang was born in Sayaboury Province, Laos, as one of six children to a family of Hmong descent. Vang's father fought as a guerrilla for the CIA during the Vietnam War. In 1975, following the communist victory in the Laotian Civil War, Vang spent most of his childhood in a refugee camp in Thailand.
Vang and his siblings relocated to the United States in 1980 and settled in St. Paul, Minnesota. In his teens, Vang worked as a paper delivery boy before moving to Stockton, California in 1985. During high school, Vang became a U.S. citizen, joined the California Cadet Corps, and was the founder and leader of the Hmong Student Association. After his graduation in 1987, Vang was employed as a social service worker for Hmong refugees.
He enlisted in the California National Guard at age 21, serving from 1989 to 1995 as part of the 236th Medical Brigade. He was decorated with a Good Conduct medal and attained a sharpshooter qualification badge. He worked as a truck driver in Sacramento following his discharge.
By 1999, Vang received an associate degree in business administration and operated a long-haul trucking service. In 2000, Vang and his family moved back to St. Paul, where he took a delivery job. Vang is the father of seven children. He is also a family shaman and was a hunting enthusiast.
On Christmas Eve 2001, police responded to a 911 call from Vang's house, according to a Minneapolis Police Department report. The quarrel allegedly began when Vang said he wanted to go out and his wife, Say Xiong, did not want him to leave. Vang's daughter, Kia, recalled running out of her room and seeing her father with a gun. Police arrested Chai Vang, but charges never were filed because, according to the police, Xiong did not cooperate with investigators. A few months later, Xiong moved with the couple's five children to live with her parents in Milwaukee.
Vang's second marriage ended in 2003, after he allegedly nearly choked his wife to death for gambling away $3,000. He remarried again in 2004.

Shootings

On the weekend of the shootings, Vang went out deer hunting with two friends and their two sons in northwest Wisconsin, a region where deer hunting is particularly popular, east of Birchwood, Wisconsin around the town of Meteor. Meteor extends over a large sparsely populated area. The land in the area is a mix of public and private. It is believed that Vang and his friends began their day on public land, but he later went onto a private tract of land.
On Sunday, November 21, a hunting party of about 15 people were in a cabin on this private land. Terry Willers, one of the two co-owners of the land, left the cabin and saw Vang sitting in a deer stand. Willers used a handheld radio to ask the people still in the cabin whether or not anyone should be in the stand. Upon receiving a response in the negative, he approached Vang and told him to leave the property and allegedly called Vang racial slurs. Vang then apologized and started moving south towards a trail through a forested area of the property. According to Terry Willers' testimony, "As Bob got back on the radio and asked me where he was at and I said, uh, he's heading south down on the food plot right now. I radioed in to the cabin that I had a tree-rat and I had chased him off." At that point five of the hunters from the cabin who had heard the radio message arrived at the tree stand. Lauren Hesebeck, a surviving victim, stated "Bob had said I'm going to go talk to him to find out who he is, why he's there, and make sure he doesn't, you know, knows that he's on private property and that he's not welcomed there. Denny had said to me this ought to be interesting, let's go and see what's going on. We got in the back of it standing up, hanging on the rear bar." After following the directions given by Terry Willers, they proceeded to approach Vang further down the trail. Crotteau then suggested making a note of his hunting license number to make a report to the DNR and, according to Hesebeck's testimony, Crotteau flipped over the hunting tag on Vang's back to get his license number.
The events after the confrontation are disputed. A violent altercation broke out and four of the eight victims were shot in the back, and three of these four were hit by multiple rounds. Vang is believed to have fired about 20 rounds from a Saiga rifle chambered in 7.62×39mm, which was recovered by police. One of the wounded hunters died the next day, bringing the toll to six dead and two wounded. Vang raised his rifle in one smooth, continuous sweeping motion as he circled right, kneeled, and aimed at Terry Willers. Vang later said, “If I don’t shoot him, he would shoot me.” Hours after the shooting, Hesebeck told his wife that Willers did fire at Vang, though he later testified claiming that no one pointed a gun at or fired at Vang.
Vang's first shot missed Willers as he ran and dove for cover, but Willers landed atop his rifle and couldn't turn over before Vang's second shot hit his lower left neck, neutralizing him. Vang instantly turned toward the men on their machines and shot Roidt; the round killed him before he fell, as his ATV, still in gear, moved slowly forward. Vang then shot and killed Drew. As the Crotteaus fled in fear, Vang fired three shots at Hesebeck at close range while chasing him around the ATV. The third round partially disemboweled Hesebeck, who fell and lay still.
Bob Crotteau fled and called the cabin on his walkie-talkie, to tell Laski to bring guns. While Vang's first shot missed, a second hit and killed Bob Crotteau. Willers, meanwhile, had regained feeling in his fingers, and called the cabin for help.
By that time Vang was chasing Joey Crotteau, who fled down a trail. Vang sprinted to cut the corner to the trail, to close the gap, and shot him in the lower back at about 65 yards. Vang reloaded, and approached closer, as Crotteau struggled forward, and shot him again. Vang then closed in and shot him twice more from behind, including a final round into his head.
Vang, after reversing his blaze-orange jacket to its camo side, hid near a curve in the trail when he heard the ATV approaching. Thinking Jessica Willers and Laski were likely armed and looking for him, Vang waited until they passed. When he fired, the bullet struck Willers in the left buttock, and struck Laski, shattering his lower spine and abdomen. Vang ran over, shot Laski through the back, and then stepped behind Willers, and fired a shot through her neck.
Vang returned to the site of the first shootings to retrieve his scope. As he neared the site, he and Hesebeck came face to face. Vang said, “You're not dead yet?” He raised his rifle and fired, as Hesebeck grabbed Willers’ rifle with his right hand and dove for cover. The shots went over Hesebeck's head.
Though he could point but not aim the rifle because of a wounded left arm, Hesebeck tried to shoot back. But when he pulled the trigger, the safety was still engaged. He dragged the unfamiliar rifle alongside his body to feel for the safety, and pushed it in. He pointed it again and fired once. He then heard a slight metallic sound from Vang's rifle, and realized Vang was out of bullets.
Vang fled the scene on foot and discarded his remaining ammunition, later stating that he did not want to shoot anyone else. Vang eventually came across another hunter riding an ATV, and this hunter offered to give him a ride, eventually taking him to Vang's cabin. Vang was arrested when he returned to his cabin five hours after the shooting. An officer waiting for Vang placed him into custody and transported him to the Sawyer County Jail. His bail was set at $2.5 million.

Victims

The victims were part of a group of about 15 people who made an annual opening-weekend trip to the Crotteau-Willers property. Among those killed were father and son Robert and Joey Crotteau and Willers' daughter Jessica Willers.
Those who were killed:
  • Robert Crotteau, 42, hit center-mass.
  • Joseph “Joey” Crotteau, 20, four hits center-mass.
  • Alan Laski, 43, three hits center-mass.
  • Mark Roidt, 28, single headshot.
  • Jessica Willers, 27, two hits center-mass.
  • Denny Drew, 55, single gutshot.
Those who survived:
  • Lauren Hesebeck, 48, neck gunshot
  • Terry Willers, 47, shoulder gunshot

    Investigation

There have been conflicting reports about what may have led to the shootings. According to subsequent oral statements by Vang, one of the local hunters, Terry Willers, took the first shot at him from about away, and therefore the shootings were in self-defense. No shell casing was ever recovered from Willers' gun even though during the trial Hesebeck admitted to firing a single shot later during the incident when Vang, noticing that Hesebeck was still alive, fired at him again. Hesebeck testified no shot was fired before Vang started shooting. Additional forensic analysis of Willers' gun was not performed by the local law enforcement which caused the court to take a break from trial. The statements of both Vang and Hesebeck state that Vang removed the scope from his rifle before firing his first shot. Vang stated that race was a factor, alleging that during the verbal dispute, some of the local hunters yelled out racial slurs at him such as "chink" and "gook". On the stand, Hesebeck admitted that Robert Crotteau had called Vang a "Hmong asshole." Hesebeck also admitted that he told law enforcement that Robert Crotteau had problems with trespassers in the past, specifically citing Hmong hunters, who often travel to Wisconsin from Minnesota to hunt. The term "Mud Duck" is often used in western Wisconsin to refer to Minnesota residents, similar to "Cheesehead" being used to describe Wisconsin residents. Willers used this term to describe Chai Vang when he radioed back to the cabin. Though the term does not necessarily have a racial connotation, the defense argued that it did, due to the fact that Willers and the others did not know at the time that Vang was from Minnesota.
The criminal complaint states that Vang shot four of the victims in the back, and Vang himself admits he shot one victim in the back. He also shot many of them multiple times. The prosecution made use of these facts in arguing against the claim of self-defense.