A 23-year-old woman who was beaten into unconsciousness outside a popular Santa Ana nightspot died Tuesday after she was taken off life support, police said.

Kim Pham, a Huntington Beach resident, was pronounced dead at 12:36 p.m., said the Santa Ana Police Department in a statement.

Five people -- three women and two men all in their 20s -- are believed to have been involved in the violent melee.

The fight early Saturday started as an argument between Pham, her friends and the suspects, said Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, a spokesman for the police department.


One friend said the argument may have been triggered when Pham accidentally walked in front of the camera while a group of people were posing for a photo.

On Monday the police arrested a Santa Ana woman on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily harm. The other suspects are at large.

Pham was declared brain-dead shortly after her attack, but her family kept her on life support until they could donate her organs.

Her father and stepmother only discovered she was an organ donor after she was hospitalized, said her stepsister, Lisa.


“She would go out of her way to help others and never expect anything back from them,” said the stepsister, who, like other family members, asked that their last name not be used out of fear of reprisal. “That’s the kind of person she is.”

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