Charles Tan's booking photo. Courtesy of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office

Updated 10:30 a.m. with confirmation from Cornell, law enforcement

A Cornell student has been accused of killing his father near Rochester on Monday night.

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Charles Tan, 19, has been charged with second-degree murder in the Monroe County town of Pittsford, according to Corporal John Helfer of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Tan is enrolled as a sophomore in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University, according to a statement from the university.

“Cornell University is not involved in the Pittsford investigation and consequently we have no comment on that investigation,” says Joel Malina, vice president of University Relations, in the statement.

“Our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time.”

Charles Tan's booking photo. Courtesy of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office
Charles Tan’s booking photo. Courtesy of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office

Corporal Helfer gave the following account of the incident:

At around 6:10 p.m., deputies responded to 37 Coach Side Lane in the town of Pittsford for a domestic incident. As they were responding, they learned that a person had been shot.

Arriving at the scene, law enforcement found Charles Tan and Qing Tan, 56, standing in the driveway.

Ling Tan, 49, was then found dead in the home. (Ling Tan is the father of Charles Tan and the husband of Qing Tan.)

Deputies canvassed the area, interviewed witnesses and neighbors, then executed a search warrant on the house.

A shotgun was then found in the garage of the house. Charles Tan was arraigned at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning in Pittsford on second-degree murder charges and sent to the Monroe County Jail without bail.

WHEC and the Democrat & Chronicle both reported that Tan was enrolled at Cornell. His name is listed in the university’s directory and on the sprint football team’s roster.

The Ithaca Voice has reached out to Cornell officials for confirmation and will update this story when we learn more.


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Jeff Stein is the founder and former editor of the Ithaca Voice.