The tragedy of a woman convicted of murdering her husband

Tragic Days

Sam Thi Huong (born in 1959), residing in Thong Thu commune, Que Phong district, is a Thai ethnic. She did not go to school, so she is illiterate. Like many other women in the mountains, Huong got married early and gave birth to 6 children with Mr. Lu Van P.

Life was already difficult and deprived, so raising a group of children was even more difficult. But instead of working together on the fields and raising livestock, Mr. P. had long since revealed his bad habits. Not only was he addicted to alcohol, but he also had a "two-finger" problem. According to relatives, Mr. P. had been punished and warned by the authorities many times for stealing property from villagers.

Because of that, Mrs. Huong always felt ashamed in front of the villagers. Not wanting her husband to go deeper into the path of theft, she tried many times to dissuade him but failed. Many times, Mrs. Huong had to shamefully apologize to the families whose property her husband had stolen.

In recent years, her children have left the village one by one to work in the city. As a result, the children have had to rely on their grandparents to take care of them. The burden of family and worries have been weighing heavily on Mrs. Huong's shoulders.

Working hard to raise her children, now taking care of her grandchildren and her alcoholic husband made her depressed at times, but then, loving her children and thinking of her grandchildren, she silently endured and worked to manage the family. Sacrificing for the family, but then the habitaddicted to alcoholThe husband's actions pushed this family into tragedy.

Defendant Sam Thi Huong received 7 years in prison for murder. Photo: Tran Vu

Killed husband then blamed suicide

On the evening of January 12, 2021, like many other days, Mr. P. sat down to drink with a group of friends. When the group of drinking friends left, Mr. P. was already tipsy. Drunk and losing his mind, Mr. P. threw away all the dishes and smashed the pots and pans that Mrs. Huong had just bought with the money her children sent home from working. At that time, Mrs. Huong was feeding the chickens, so her nephew ran out to tell her the news. Angry, Mrs. Huong said: "My children work for hire, sending money home to buy a dozen big bowls, you broke almost all of them... go die." In response, Mr. P. cursed and said insulting things to his wife.

Angry because her husband broke things and insulted her, and remembering her husband's previous drunken fits, Huong used a rope to strangle Mr. P., causing him to fall to the floor. At this time, Huong took a wooden stick and hit Mr. P. on the head, causing the victim to die.

In a fit of madness, the woman lost control of her actions. After beating the man and turning on the light, she saw her husband foaming at the mouth, so she called the neighbors for help. However, the victim had already died. Afterwards, Sam Thi Huong turned herself in to the police. The investigation agency determined the cause of death was asphyxiation due to strangulation with a rope.

The first instance trial of the defendant for murder lasted for several hours. Because the defendant did not know Vietnamese, an interpreter was needed. The defendant changed his testimony: That day, the couple had an argument because Mr. P. was drunk and broke things. However, the story ended there, and there was no story of her killing her husband.

Sam Thi Huong also claimed that her husband had hanged himself with a rope. After discovering the incident, the defendant lowered her husband’s body to the ground and informed the neighbors.

The defendant’s testimony at the trial was completely different from the investigation process and the transcript of the testimony. Ms. Huong explained that she was beaten during the investigation so she told the truth in court. However, the defendant could not provide any information about the officer who beat her. Because the defendant’s testimony was inconsistent and contradicted the investigation process and the witness, the panel decided to adjourn for deliberation.

After a while of denying the crime, the defendant admitted to killing her husband and expressed remorse. Photo: Tran Vu

During this time, when encouraged by her defense attorney and children, Mrs. Huong made a different move. The defendant changed her testimony, admitting to the jury that she had used a rope to strangle her husband to death. Because of her previous testimony, the defendant said she was afraid that her children would be angry, would not forgive her mistakes, and would not visit her during her detention. “However, after thinking about her husband, the defendant thought she could not deceive her conscience,” Mrs. Huong said.

Torment of Regret

After admitting all the crimes, the defendant burst into tears, expressing remorse and apologizing to her children who were attending the trial. “No matter what, I am sorry to you,” the interpreter reported the defendant’s apology.

Attending the trial as a person with related rights, the daughter-in-law did not request civil compensation. She also asked for a reduced sentence for her mother. “From the day she became a daughter-in-law until the incident happened, my mother-in-law was a gentle person, always caring for her husband and children. Even though I was a daughter-in-law, she loved me very much. But because my mother's marriage was not happy, my father scolded and beat her. My father even refused to feed her many times. My mother suffered a lot, maybe that's why she lost control of her actions, but she did not intend to kill anyone,” she said.

For decades, despite her miserable life, the woman tried to endure because she thought of her children and grandchildren. Then, the incident that day was the last straw, turning her from a gentle person into a murderer.

In her belated remorse, she apologized to her deceased husband and children. Considering that in this case the defendant committed the crime under emotional agitation, that the defendant was elderly, illiterate, and had limited legal awareness, the panel of judges applied many mitigating circumstances. Considering the case as a whole, the panel sentenced Sam Thi Huong to 7 years in prison for murder.

Sam Thi Huong left the court with red eyes. Below, the children of the victim and the defendant cried out loud. Having to suffer the pain of losing their father at the same time, and their mother being imprisoned, their hearts ached, the pain seemed to multiply many times...