Editing Haing S. Ngor (section)

== Death and legacy ==
On February 25, 1996, Ngor was shot and killed outside his home in [[Chinatown, Los Angeles]].<ref name="David Ng" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Noble |first=Kenneth B. |date=27 February 1996 |title=Cambodian Physician Who Won an Oscar for 'Killing Fields' Is Slain |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/27/us/cambodian-physician-who-won-an-oscar-for-killing-fields-is-slain.html |access-date=28 November 2021}}</ref> Three alleged members of the "Oriental Lazy Boyz" [[street gang]], who had prior arrests for snatching purses and jewelry, were charged with the murder. They were trialed together in the [[Superior Court of Los Angeles County]], though their cases were heard by three separate juries.<ref name="MN"/> Prosecutors argued that they killed Ngor because, after handing over his gold [[Rolex]] watch willingly, he refused to give them a locket that contained a photo of his late wife, My-Huoy. Defense attorneys suggested the murder was a politically motivated killing carried out by sympathizers of the Khmer Rouge. [[Kang Kek Iew]], a former Khmer Rouge official on trial in Cambodia, claimed in November 2009 that Ngor was murdered on Pol Pot's orders, but U.S. investigators did not find him credible.<ref name="Los Angeles Times">My-Thuan Tran, [http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/21/local/la-me-ngor-murder21-2010jan21/4 Revisiting Haing Ngor's murder: 'Killing Fields' theory won't die] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204100429/http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/21/local/la-me-ngor-murder21-2010jan21/4 |date=2010-12-04 }}, ''Los Angeles Times'', January 21, 2010</ref>

Some criticized the theory that Ngor was killed in a bungled robbery, pointing to $2,900 in cash that had been left behind and that the thieves had not rifled his pockets. Why the thieves would have demanded his locket is not known; Ngor typically wore the locket next to his skin under his clothing, so it would not have been easily visible. {{as of|2003}}, the locket had not been recovered.{{Sfn|Ngor|Warner|2003|p=515}}

All of the defendants were found guilty on April 16, 1998, the same day Pol Pot's death was confirmed in Cambodia.<ref>Daniel Yi, Greg Krikorian, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-17-me-40165-story.html Three Men Convicted of Killing Ngor], ''Los Angeles Times'', April 17, 1998</ref> Tak Sun Tan was sentenced to 56 years to life; Indra Lim to 26 years to life; and Jason Chan to life sentence without parole. In 2004, the [[U.S. District Court for the Central District of California]] granted Tak Sun Tan's ''[[habeas corpus]]'' petition, finding that prosecutors had manipulated the jury's sympathy by presenting false evidence. This decision was reversed, and the conviction was ultimately upheld by the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]] in July 2005.

Many Cambodians claimed they had a stake in his estate, with one woman claiming he had married her after coming to the United States. Most of Ngor's Cambodian assets went to his younger brother, [[Chan Sarun]], while his American assets were used up in legal fees staving off claims to his estate.{{Sfn|Ngor|Warner|2003|p=512–513}} He was buried at [[Rose Hills Memorial Park]], [[Whittier, California]].

After the release of ''The Killing Fields'', Ngor had told a ''[[New York Times]]'' reporter, "If I die from now on, OK! This film will go on for a hundred years."{{Sfn|Suryadinata|2018}}

Dith Pran, whom Ngor portrayed in ''The Killing Fields'', said of Ngor's death, "He is like a twin with me. He is like a co-messenger and right now I am alone."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9602/haing_ngor/|publisher=CNN|author=Jim Hill|date=February 27, 1996|title=Actor Haing Ngor found gunned down outside L.A. home|access-date=2007-09-06}}</ref>