Cynthia Lai said this morning that emotion overtakes her and she breaks down crying when she thinks about Manh Nguyen, who was shot to death along with Jason and Colleen Takamori after a botched robbery on July 6.

The murder suspect, 23-year-old Adam Mau-Goffredo, is being held at the O'ahu Community Correctional Center.

Nguyen and Lai, both from Vietnam, met and married in Hawai'i and were set to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in January.

Lai said she and her husband had recently watched their 17-year-old son Victor graduate with honors from McKinley High School.

"I will always remember my husband as a good man, a kind man, who is always happy," Lai said. "This morning I woke up and realized my husband is gone and we cannot be by ourselves."

Lai met her husband in 1981 when they both worked at Jack in the Box on Kalakaua Avenue. The couple dated for six years before marrying in 1987.

Manh Nguyen began work as a taxi driver in 1984 and was passionate about his work, his wife said.