See No Evil: Who were the suspects in Josh Richards' murder?

The 2013 nightclub shooting of Green Bay resident Josh Richards became a well-known case in Outagamie County for gun violence. As investigators started to pour into the case owing to pressure from the public, they identified four suspects in the murder case - Joe Thor, Paul Lee, Chong Lee and Phong Lee.

The police gathered information about the suspects from witness statements and surveillance footage from the Luna Lounge bar. While Joe Thor, Paul Lee, and Phong Lee were questioned about Josh Richards' shooting, two girls who were at the bar reported Chong Lee's confession to the shooting.

The See No Evil episode titled Run for the Door showcases the convoluted investigation and subsequent murder trial of Josh Richards as the synopsis reads,

"Josh Richards is shot execution style in the middle of a nightclub in Appleton, Wisconsin. When detectives delve deeper into the investigation, they discover a camera has the potential to reveal the identity of a killer."

Season 6, Episode 3 reairs on January 17, 2024, at 6 p.m. EST on Investigation Discovery.

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Who were the suspects in Josh Richards' 2013 murder?

Josh Richards, the 25-year-old car mechanic from Green Bay who specialized in converting old school buses into party buses, was out partying for the launch of his business on December 7, 2013. Josh and his girlfriend, Brittany Olson, were at the Luna Lounge in Appleton when he was shot in the head around 1:50 a.m., per Post-Crescent Media. When the first responders arrived, they found Josh to be lying at the entrance of the now-closed nightclub and bar.

While Josh was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead the following day, the Outagamie County Sheriff's Office turned to surveillance footage from the club and a nearby traffic camera. They also recovered the shell casing of a .25 caliber handgun which they believed to be the murder weapon.

With barely any evidence, the investigators gathered the information of the Asian individuals who had left the scene right after the shooting. They identified the three individuals who exited Luna Lounge as Joe Thor, Paul Lee, and Phong Lee. A fourth individual, Chong Lee, was seen leaving the premises a while later.

They interviewed three witnesses who claimed to have been present during the shooting and further gave the officials a description of the perpetrator. Moreover, the police were repeatedly informed of their unwillingness to be part of the investigation for fear of their life.

Soon enough, the investigators from the Appleton Police Department found Paul Lee to be Chong Lee's brother and pressed him for details keeping him in custody. He denied any involvement in Josh Richards' murder but at the same time, defended his brother. Around the same time, two girls informed the police of Chong Lee's confession to have murdered Joshua Richards which added to Joe Thor's statement blaming Chong for the shooting. Thor further informed them that Chong had gotten rid of the murder weapon.

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The 28-year-old from Neenah, Chong Lee, was charged with first-degree intentional homicide by use of a dangerous weapon. More charges were added to his rap sheet including a count of possession of a firearm by a felon and two counts of felony intimidation of a witness.

Chong Lee was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 34 years in June 2016.