Philadelphia Police issued an arrest warrant Monday for a man who they say helped torture and kill two men who owed him money before dumping the bodies into the Schuylkill River.
Investigators accused Tam Le of being behind the killing of two brothers that began at a Southwest Philadelphia home and ended at the banks of the Schuylkill River with a bloody man calling out for help in the early hours of Aug. 27.
Police hope to locate Le, 42, who hails from E Lycoming Street in the Juniata Park neighborhood.
Authorities learned of the barbaric crime when the surviving victim, 23-year-old Thanh Voong, climbed from the banks of the Schuylkill River and began screaming for help.
Hours earlier, the abductors were holding the three men -- who have ties to gangs and are well-known to authorities -- at a home on the 2400 block of 72nd Street, according to investigators.
The incident appeared to be drug related, according to police.
The suspects were holding the brothers -- later identified at 28-year-old Viet Huynh and 31-year-old Vu Huynh of Paoli, Pennsylvania -- captive after they gambled away $100,000, which they were given to buy drugs, according to reports.
Voong showed up at the house with $40,000 to pay off the Huynh's debt, but it was not enough to satisfy the suspects, sources said.
Investigators later found the bodies of the two brothers submerged in the water. Their throats were slit and both were bound with tape and tied to buckets.
Detectives removed similar buckets filled with roofing materials from the home along 72nd Street, police said.
Neighbors told NBC10 a woman and five children lived in the home. But they fled in an apparent rush since food was still on the stove when police arrived, according to reports.
Authorities also towed away an Audi A8 sedan as part of the investigation. They did not disclose how the vehicle,which was found on the 22nd Street overpass above the Vine Street Expressway, was related to the crime.
Anyone who knows about Le's whereabouts should contact Philadelphia Police.
Police could still issue more arrest warrants in the case.
"They have obviously means, they have a lot of money, " Clark said. "They have a lot of different locations they've lived at through the years so right now we don't know where they're at or where they're headed."
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As the investigation continued, Voong was treated for several stab wounds at Hahnemann University Hospital.
