Graduate viciously beaten and killed by party-goers in nightclub brawl because of a PHOTOBOMB -->>

When Kim Pham bumped into a fellow partygoer, it proved to be a fatal mistake…

Kim was excited about becoming a journalist

Outside a Californian nightclub, bystanders pulled out their mobile phones and started filming the commotion in the street.
A crowd had gathered, and Kim Pham was in the middle, desperately trying to defend herself as blows rained down on her head. Just minutes earlier, Kim had been queuing with her friends outside the club.
Witnesses later claimed that Kim had accidentally photobombed a picture being taken by some other girls, triggering the attack that had devastating consequences. As strangers filmed the brawl, they had no idea they were recording Kim’s death.
Annie Hung Kim Pham, 23, was known to her friends and family as Kim. She’d recently graduated and was passionate about becoming a journalist, in fact she’d already had some of her work published online. The high-achiever was also fast approaching her first wedding anniversary – but she never got the chance to celebrate it.

Left brain dead

In the early hours of 18 January 2014, Kim and 11 friends were queuing outside The Crosby, a trendy nightclub in Santa Ana. Candace Brito and Vanessa Zavala were just leaving the bar with their friends when, some witnesses said, Kim accidentally photobombed a picture being taken by them.
Others said she simply bumped into one of the women, who was later identified as Amelia.
The pair started to argue and the situation escalated very quickly. In the chaos, no one remembers who threw the first punch, but within minutes, a violent fight had broken out.
While Amelia backed away, Candace and Vanessa jumped in with a horrifying level of aggression and the brawl spilled out onto the pavement. Kim was knocked to the ground and repeatedly punched in the head.
By the time police officers arrived, Kim was unconscious and her attackers had fled the scene. She was rushed to hospital where she was left in a coma. A makeshift memorial appeared close to where Kim had fallen and posters appealed for witnesses to come forward.

The nightclub where the fight took place

Friends prayed for her recovery, but Kim’s doctors declared her brain dead. Two days later, Kim’s heartbroken family made the devastating decision to turn off her life support.
An autopsy ruled the cause of Kim’s death was blunt force trauma to the head – she had received six blows, any of which could have caused the fatal brain bleed.
Kim’s brutal death made major headlines. How could a ‘beautiful and eloquent’ woman be kicked to death on a night out? The community was also horrified that bystanders videoed the attack rather than trying to help. Candace and Vanessa were both arrested and charged with murder.

Manslaughter

In July 2014, Candace Brito, 27, and Vanessa Zavala, 26, pleaded not guilty to the charges. Chillingly, during the trial Kim’s final moments were replayed for everyone to see from the footage filmed that night.
The defence of both women claimed they never intended to kill Kim. They also argued that the fatal bleeding of the brain could have been caused when Kim fell and hit her head on the ground, or from the impactof other blows.
They alleged that Kim had thrown the first punch and the accused pair had acted in self defence while protecting their friend.

"You’re allowed to hit a person back when they hit you. It’s as simple as that." They added that it was Kim’s "poor decisions" that had led to her death.
The jurors were repeatedly shown the shocking footage filmed by onlookers. The prosecution said that the two attackers deserved to be punished for their level of violence that night.
It was claimed that at one point Vanessa was pushed away from the fight, but returned torain the final blow to Kim’s head.
"Let the criminal system do its job and find justice for the victim," said the prosecution.
Just who and what had started the fight was often disputed, as witnesses from each group gave conflicting accounts. But the prosecution reminded jurors of the ferocity of the attack.
Even if Kim had started the fight, she’d been viciously brought to the ground, beaten around the head and left brain dead, while bystanders filmed it on their phones.
Kim wasn’t a threat as a crumpled heap on the pavement. "It doesn’t matter who started it," they reminded jurors.

Candace Brito and Vanessa Zavala said they acted in self-defence

After a two-week trial, Candace and Vanessa were acquitted of the more serious charge of second-degree murder and found guilty of felony manslaughter and assault.
At the sentencing, Candace showed remorse to Kim’s family. "I will live with this for the rest of my life," she said. "I know that you will never forget this, but I hope some day you can forgive." Vanessa added that, as a mum, she could understand the pain Kim’s family was suffering.
Both women were sentenced to six years in prison. The judge criticised them for not walking away and also blasted bystanders for filming the attack instead of stepping in. They were fined £3,240 each and ordered to pay £2,270 in funeral costs to Kim’s family.
"Why didn’t you two walk away?" the judge asked. "You’re not gang members. You’re not fighters. You had been law-abiding, nice young women. And yet… you were all in the fight up to your elbows. If any of you had just swallowed your pride and walked away, none of us would be sitting here."
After the hearing, a spokesperson for Kim’s family said, "We think it’s a fair judgement. We feel for their families too."
The resounding message to local partygoers was simple – walk away when a fight starts to escalate, especially when drink is involved. With one woman dead and two more behind bars, no one won the fight that tragic night.