25-year-old defendant voluntarily accepted death sentence for committing serious crime against old woman

On September 14, the Hanoi People's Court opened a first-instance trial and sentenced Nguyen Viet Luc (25 years old) to death for two crimes: Murder and Rape. The victim, 76 years old, is a relative and "young grandmother" of Luc.

According to the first instance verdict, on the morning of December 3, 2016, after dinner, Luc went to a villager's house and stayed to drink. Disagreeing that the wine was hard to drink, Luc went home to get a bottle of rice wine and brought it over. After the drinking party, when leaving, Luc saw the "young lady" cutting grass in his garden and invited her in for a drink.

While drunk, Luc had the intention of having sex, so he waited until the "young lady" was not paying attention and used an electric wire to commit the crime. When the victim was unconscious, Luc committed the crime. Fearing being reported, he picked up the victim and threw her away.

Late that same day, people discovered the old woman's body in a well in the garden.

Luc was on the run for nearly a year, living in many southern provinces. On August 2, 2017, he returned to Bac Giang province and was arrested.

In court, Luc admitted his actions and hoped to be sentenced to death for his crimes.