The brother-in-law murdered his sister-in-law's relative because he suspected her of slandering him and instigating him to leave the house.
Lo Van Thai was living with his brother. After repeatedly hearing his sister-in-law's relatives badmouth him and incite him to leave the house, Thai took a shovel and an iron pipe and struck the victim in vital areas, causing his death.
On August 20th, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened the first-instance trial of Lo Van Thai (33 years old), residing in Son Ha village, Tam Quang commune, Nghe An province, on the charge of "Killing".
Lo Van Thai was living with his older brother, Lo Van Sao. On September 15, 2024, while Thai was eating and drinking at his brother's house, Mr. Kha Van T. (born in 1975) came to visit. Thai overheard Mr. T. telling Mrs. Kha Thi Thanh (Mr. T.'s sister, Mr. Sao's wife) to kick Thai out and not let him stay with them anymore.
Angered by the slander and Thai's previous suspicions that Mr. T. had instigated Ms. Thanh to evict him from the house, Thai went to a construction materials yard, grabbed a shovel with a metal blade, and repeatedly struck Mr. T. on the body and head.
When the shovel blade fell off, Thai continued to hit Mr. T on the head with the wooden handle. Only when Mrs. Thanh ran in to intervene, and Mr. T managed to grab the shovel handle away, did Thai run away.
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Nevertheless, Thai continued to chase after Mr. T with a metal pipe, beating him. When the victim tried to run away, Thai caught up and continued to hit him on the head, causing Mr. T to collapse to the ground unconscious.
Mr. T. sustained serious injuries and was taken to several hospitals for emergency treatment. He returned home in early October and continued his recovery. His total percentage of bodily injury at the time of assessment was 41%. He passed away on January 17, 2025.
During the investigation, Lo Van Thai showed signs of depression and was withdrawn, so the authorities requested a forensic psychiatric examination. The examination concluded that, before, during, and after committing the crime, Thai suffered from a late-onset, residual psychotic disorder due to opioid use. At the aforementioned times, Thai had sufficient cognitive ability but limited ability to control his behavior.
At the trial, the defendant admitted to using a shovel and an iron pipe to strike the victim. Regarding the motive for the crime, the defendant stated that he suspected Mr. T. had repeatedly spoken ill of him and his brother's family to his sister-in-law. He feared being evicted from the house, so he struck the victim to scare him.
However, according to the court, the defendant carried out the crime to completion. Even though the victim tried to flee several times, the defendant pursued him and struck him in dangerous areas.
Considering the defendant's actions were dangerous to society, violated the law, and constituted the crime of murder, the court sentenced Lo Van Thai to 15 years in prison.
