What happened to Felicia Tang and was it a murder? Details about 48 Hours podcast subject, explored

Felicia Tang was an American model and actress who was found dead by the police at her partner's apartment on September 11, 2009. Her live-in partner Brian Randone, a successful salesman called 911 emergency, and when the cops reached the scene, they found a terrifying scene where the entire bedroom was splashed with blood.

Felicia was found naked near the bathroom floor with over 300 wounds in her body. The cops initially raised all the suspicion towards the partner, and Brian Randone was arrested. However, after rigorous investigations and multiple trials, Randone could prove to the judges that Felicia Tang was killed due to GHB (Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate) consumption. This was an illegal drug used for se*ual arousal and intoxication, which was found in her system.

Though Randone was proven not guilty by the authorities, the true cause behind the death of Felicia Tang still remains. The death of Tang is documented in Episode 575 of the 48 Hours podcast titled The Death of Felicia Tang. The episode spanning 54 minutes made its release on June 24, 2024.

What is the story of Felicia Tang?

Felicia worked in the adult entertainment industry (Image via Pexels)

Felicia Tang was born in Singapore on October 22, 1977, and was originally known as Felicia Lee. As per an article in the Los Angeles Times, she was 13 years of age when her family moved to Los Angeles, California. This is when she started modeling for minor magazines, and bikini shots in her late teens. Simultaneously, Felicia Tang started pursuing her degree in Marketing and Business Administration.

Felicia Tang eventually started making appearances across soft po*nography films and DVDs. As per ABC News, Felicia had multiple appearances in Playboy television videos and eventually managed to gain minor roles across movies including The Fast and the Furious (2001), Rush Hour 2 (2001), and Cradle 2 the Grave (2003).

Felicia eventually opened her website, where she posted her exclusive po*nographic content, and quickly gained a following list. It was in October 2008, when Felicia Tang finally decided to retire from the adult industry and start her career in real estate. By then Felicia had attained a fair amount of wealth and wanted to invest it into her business.

Felicia Tang met Brian Randone for the first time back in April 2009, in Las Vegas. As per CBS News, Randone had been a Pastor in the past, known for his unique way of enacting God's words in the form of mime. He would travel all across the globe, and show people the Bible way of life. The two started dating, and in the next few months, Felicia started living together in Randone's Los Angeles apartment.

It was in 2000 that Randone became a participant in the reality show The Sexiest Bachelor in America, and soon after, he started opening different business ventures. As per CBS News, Randone made a hefty amount of money selling phones and internet services during the early 2000s. Randone revealed to CBS, that he was planning to propose to her soon.

As per Randone, it was in July 2009, when Felicia opened up to him about her past life. Felicia then visited his home in Nebraska on the Fourth of July. Randone narrated that on September 10, 2009, one day before she was murdered, the couple had a fight, which ended in both taking doses of GHB. He said that Felicia often used to take multiple gulps of the drug, which made her go rampant. He blamed this is the reason for her multiple scars and eventual death.

The murder of Felicia Tang

Felicia had numerous scars on her body (Image via Pexels)

On the morning of September 11, 2009, Brian Randone called 911 emergency. Detective Richard Doney from Monrovia Police Department was the first to reach the scene. Detective Maureen Maher from Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau described the scene to be gruesome.

Randone had his apartment in the city of Monrovia, and the detective described the bedroom to have been splattered with blood. There were globs of hair all over the floor, there were dark spots on the bed, indicating a violent struggle which happened before. The body of Felicia Tang was found lying on her back, with her eyes open wide.

Brian Randone was found sitting with his head down on his legs, and upon immediate interrogation, he said, both of them had used GHB and were having hardcore intercourse. Randone was immediately arrested on the charge of the murder of Felicia, and imprisoned in L.A. County jail.

The paramedics, upon reaching the scene revealed that Felicia had been dead almost half an hour before they arrived, by calculating her pulseless electrical activity scale. As per CBS News, the autopsy of Felicia Tang revealed that she had approximately 320 bruises on her body, including blunt trauma and most of them indicated her trying to defend herself.

As per Randone, his partner had a history of drug and alcohol abuse and would often inflict harm upon herself. However, the medical examiner revealed that Felicia Tang died out of suffocation, and the bite marks on her tongue, signaled that she struggled to breathe before she died.

The trial for Brian Randone

Brian Randone was declared not guilty (Image via Pexels)

As per Monrovia Patch, it was on November 14, 2011, when Brian Randone was admitted to the Pasadena courtroom, and two days later on November 16, 2011, his trial began. Mark Overland for Randone, dismissed the case as be simple drug overdose. As per him, Felicia died by consuming lethal doses of GHB. The toxicological reports did back up his claims, however, the defensive wounds in the victim's body indicated a different possibility.

Trinka Porrata, a retired cop from the Los Angeles Police Department, had been an expert in GHB and drug abuse cases. He was a narcos detective for 22 years, who went thorough research into the case, and concluded that Felicia died of GHB overconsumption. As per Patch.com, it was on December 9, 2011, when Brian Randone was declared not guilty of the murder of Felicia Tang.

Edited by Bharath S