Tragedy of a wife whose husband was murdered by a village boy while visiting his lover

At the trial in mid-May, both the wife and the victim’s lover were invited. The two women, one a witness, the other a relative of the victim, did not say anything to each other. Knowing the situation, her husband, Mr. Nguyen Van Tr (born in 1987; residing in Quynh Hong commune, Quynh Luu) was stabbed to death by a village boy while staying at another woman’s house, Ms. T. could only remain silent, both humiliated and heartbroken, only wishing to receive a reasonable amount of compensation so that she could have enough to raise her children and take care of her mother-in-law.

It seems that it was not until this trial that Ms. T. was able to “meet” her husband’s lover. The person who claimed to have given birth to her husband’s son and whom he loved dearly.

And it was not until half a year after her husband's death that she could clearly imagine a story that she did not want to hear. She was partly angry at the person who killed her husband, but perhaps she felt more sorry for herself...

The case occurred on a day in early December 2018, Duong Van Linh (born in 1988), Tran Hoai Nam (born in 1991) went drinking with Tran Dinh Tung (born in 1979), both residing in Quynh Long commune, Quynh Luu.

Defendants Tran Hoai Nam and Duong Van Linh (from left to right) at the trial. Photo: An Quynh

After a few glasses of wine, Tung confided: On the morning of December 5, 2018, when he visited Ms. Tran Thi Tuyet's house (born in 1987, residing in Quynh Thuan commune, Quynh Luu), Mr. Tr. chased him away because he thought that Tung was sitting on the bed of Mr. Tr.'s "wife" (actually his lover - PV), which made Tung very angry.

Knowing that Mr. Tr. visited Ms. Tuyet and her son every night, at around 10 p.m. that same day, Nam, Linh, and Mr. Tung went to Ms. Tuyet's house to talk. While Mr. Tung was still standing outside the door, Nam and Linh entered the room where Ms. Tuyet was sitting to ask for the truth.

Seeing Tuyet sitting and talking with Mr. Tr. on the bed, Nam immediately rushed in and slapped Mr. Tr. on the head. At this time, Lich rushed from behind and pushed Mr. Tr. against the wall, using his hands to strangle Mr. Tr. to avenge his brother.

With the help of his friend, Tran Hoai Nam stepped back, pulled out a pocket knife and opened the blade. At that time, Mr. Tr managed to get up and push Nam onto the bed to run outside, but Tran Hoai Nam stabbed him once in the left chest, causing Mr. Tr to fall to the floor.

Seeing Mr. Tr. fall down with blood on his chest, Duong Van Linh immediately asked: "Why is Mr. Tr. bleeding?". Nam only had time to say: "I stabbed him". After that, the two of them took Mr. Tr. to the hospital. Due to the severity of his injuries, the victim died on the way to the emergency room. Tran Hoai Nam and Duong Van Linh turned themselves in to the police station, confessing their actions.

Based on the case file, the police investigation agency decided to prosecute Tran Hoai Nam for "murder". Duong Van Linh did not know that Nam brought a knife to stab Mr. Tr, so he was prosecuted for "disturbing public order".

At the trial, the woman considered the victim's "mistress", Ms. Tran Thi Tuyet, seemed to not know who Mr. Tr's official wife was, insisted that she was Mr. Tr's wife and asked the defendant Nam to take responsibility for raising the second son, only 5 years old, who she said was Mr. Tr's child. Only when the panel of judges asked her and the victim if they had a marriage certificate or any documents showing the child's bloodline with Mr. Tr, did she just keep silent. Every time the court asked about her husband's mistress, it seemed to add to the pain of the official wife, Ms. T.

“We have been married for decades and have two children together, but I have never been happy. I am often cursed and beaten by my husband. The other woman is my husband’s third lover. Since I went to the South to work, he moved in with her...”, Ms. T confided.

Even though the couple had been strangers for years, Ms. T still did not divorce her husband because she wanted her two children to have a complete home.

Ms. T. sadly said: “That day, I was at work when I received an urgent call to go home, my husband had died in an accident. But when I got home, I found out that my husband had been stabbed to death by his lover.”

Considering the entire case, the panel sentenced Tran Hoai Nam to 16 years in prison for “murder” and ordered the defendant to pay 179 million VND in compensation to the victim. Duong Van Linh was sentenced to 12 months in prison for “disturbing public order”.

The trial ended in tears from Ms. T, while the woman named Tuyet, Mr. Tr's lover, showed no expression. Leaving the court, the two women walked in two different directions...