A Virginia mother stabbed her two-year-old son, husband, and mother-in-law to death before taking her own life Saturday morning inside their Woodbridge townhome, authorities confirmed Monday in what the police chief called the worst nightmare imaginable.
Prince William County police identified the suspect as Ziyi Lu, 35, who killed her family members around 8 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21, at their corner townhome in the 3400 block of Vale Court in the Rollingwood Village neighborhood near Smoketown Road. Lu’s father-in-law, who lived in the basement, discovered the bodies upstairs and called 911 at approximately 8:04 a.m. He was the only family member to survive.
The victims were Lu’s husband, Danxiong Gao, 40, her mother-in-law, Kegang Xie, 69, and the couple’s 2-year-old son, whose name was not released due to his age under Virginia law. Autopsies conducted by the medical examiner’s office confirmed all four died from knife-related injuries. Police recovered what they believe is the murder weapon at the scene.
Prince William County Police Chief Peter Newsham said the situation was comparable to the worst nightmare someone could imagine. He explained that while the exact cause or motive remained unclear, witnessing the destruction of an entire family was nothing short of horrific.
Officers arrived at 8:05 a.m. and found the four victims inside the home. Based on undisclosed details discovered at the scene, investigators determined the sequence of events and believe Lu was the aggressor who killed her husband, child, and mother-in-law before turning the knife on herself. The grandfather cooperated fully with investigators and was questioned at police headquarters on Saturday.
Lt. Jonathan Perok, a Prince William County police spokesman, confirmed Monday that investigators found no history of domestic violence calls to the home. Police had never responded to the residence for any previous issues involving the family, a detail that has left detectives searching for answers about what triggered the bloodshed.
Investigators are examining whether mental health issues played a role in the tragedy, though police have not disclosed a motive. Authorities said they are not seeking any additional suspects in the case.
Mike Giampa, who befriended Gao in 2018 when they were neighbors, said he now rents a home owned by Gao’s parents. Giampa rushed to police headquarters Saturday to offer information after learning of the deaths and was allowed to see Gao’s father. The elderly man’s anguish was overwhelming.
“I’ve cried a hundred times,” Giampa told NBC4 Washington. “His Dad cries all the time, obviously. He says he has no one; ‘Why did she not kill me? Why am I left?'”
Giampa took his friend’s grieving father home with him and pledged his support, telling him, “You are family, you are not alone.” He said Gao, who went by Daniel, grew up in Fairfax County and ran his own tax accounting business. Gao had been married since 2016 in what Giampa described as an arranged marriage.
The family’s next-door neighbor told NBC4 Washington the family seemed normal and had given them a baby shower gift when they had their baby. He said he had just seen Gao the night before the killings. Another neighbor, Edie Modlin, called the violence “heartbreaking.”
Sonia Gonzalez, who has lived in Rollingwood Village for about eight years and previously worked at the county jail, said she never expected such violence in the quiet neighborhood of townhomes near Smoketown Road just north of Minnieville Road. She lives about a block from the family’s home but did not know them.
The three victims mark the first homicides in Prince William County since Jan. 1, 2026. The case is one of two deadly family stabbings in Northern Virginia over the weekend. On Monday, Fairfax County police shot and killed a man in the Mantua neighborhood after he allegedly used a 10-inch curved dagger to fatally stab his wife and daughter and critically wound his son-in-law. Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis described that scene as a “bloodbath.”
Prince William County Supervisor Victor Angry, who represents the Neabsco District where the Woodbridge incident occurred, sent a note to constituents Saturday, urging them to reach out to loved ones.
Police said all four family members had added Americanized first names to their Chinese names. The investigation remains active as authorities work to determine what led to the tragic deaths.