Suspecting the homeowner of flirting with his wife, the husband committed murder after a drinking party.
Thanh went with his wife to borrow money and was invited by the homeowner to stay and drink. During the drinking session, because he suspected the homeowner had bad intentions towards his wife, Thanh coldly killed her. After committing the crime, the perpetrator drowned the victim’s body in a pond and erased all traces of the crime scene. For this crime, Thanh received the highest sentence.
Murder after failed loan attempt
In the early days of 2025, when everyone was busy preparing to celebrate the Lunar New Year, the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Tran Van D. (born in 1970, residing in Phuc Son commune, now Anh Son commune, Nghe An province) made many people worried. Mr. D. had a wife and 3 children, but before the disappearance, his wife and youngest child had moved out to rent a room because the couple had some conflicts (the first 2 children had both moved out to live separately).
On January 19, 2025, the married daughter returned to visit her parents' house but did not see her father. When checking the furniture in the house, she discovered that there was a disturbance, so she reported it to the police. Immediately after that, the authorities began investigating and discovered Mr. D's body in a pond near the house. When discovered, the victim's body was pressed down with an iron plate and many bricks. Initially determining that this was a murder case, the police began investigating and searching for the perpetrator.
Not long after, the suspects were summoned by the investigation agency, including Nguyen Van Thanh (born 2004), Nguyen Thi Kim Anh (born 2004, Thanh's wife) and Nguyen Van Chien (born 2010, Thanh's younger brother), all residing in Long Son commune, former Anh Son district, now Yen Xuan commune, Nghe An province. Initially, the suspects did not admit to the crime. But on February 20, 2025, Thanh came to the police to surrender and reported the murder of Mr. D. After that, Nguyen Thi Kim Anh also reported concealing the crime. From here, the cause of the case was revealed.
According to the suspects' statements, at noon on January 17, 2025, Nguyen Van Thanh and his wife went to Mr. D's house to borrow money, using a motorbike as collateral. After looking at the motorbike, Mr. D only lent them 4 million VND, so Thanh and his wife did not borrow any more. Afterwards, Mr. D's family invited Thanh and his wife to stay for dinner. When Mr. D went into the kitchen to prepare dinner, Thanh went behind the pigsty, while Kim Anh sat on a wooden bench in the middle of the yard. Later, Thanh heard his wife calling out so he went out to ask, but Kim Anh did not say anything.
After drinking a few glasses of wine, Thanh and his wife went home. On the way home, Kim Anh told her husband that Mr. D. had pushed her down earlier and had bad intentions. Hearing this, Thanh was angry, so that in the afternoon of the same day, he and his wife returned to Mr. D.'s house to "talk". When they arrived, Thanh sat down to drink with Mr. D., while Kim Anh left first. During the drinking session, Thanh thought that Mr. D. had "many insulting words" towards her and his wife, so he was angry.
At nearly 7 p.m., seeing that her husband had not returned, Kim Anh told her husband's younger brother, Nguyen Van Chien, to drive to pick Thanh up. When he arrived, Chien saw his brother and Mr. D. sitting and drinking. A moment later, Nguyen Van Thanh brought the food tray down to the kitchen. Seeing the knife, he had a dark idea. Thanh took the knife, walked up, stood behind Mr. D. and suddenly slashed him in the head, causing Mr. D. to fall face down on the ground. Not stopping there, Thanh continued to slash Mr. D.'s head five times, causing his death.
Seeing his brother attacking Mr. D., Chien panicked and ran away. Thanh chased after him and grabbed him. Thanh threatened his brother, "If you run, I will kill you. Come here and take Mr. D.'s body to the pond and throw it away." Chien stood still and said nothing. After that, because Thanh forced him, Chien joined in carrying Mr. D.'s body to the pond. After that, Thanh and his brother used an iron plate and bricks to press down on the victim's body so that it sank into the pond.
When entering the house, Thanh saw blood on the table and cement floor, so he used a rag to clean it. The killer also took documents such as ID card, notebook and phone that were stained with blood and burned them elsewhere for fear of being discovered.
After returning home, Thanh told his wife that he had murdered Mr. D. and told his wife and younger brother, "It's too late now, don't tell anyone, not even your parents." Fearing that fingerprints were still on the knife, Thanh returned to Mr. D.'s house that night to wash away the blood and the knife. Before leaving, Thanh locked the gate and threw the key into the pond. After finishing everything, Thanh went home to sleep.
Death sentence
With the above crime, Nguyen Van Thanh was brought to trial for murder. Meanwhile, his wife, Nguyen Thi Kim Anh, was tried for concealing a criminal. On the day of the trial, the courtroom of Nghe An Provincial Court was quite crowded. Most of them were relatives of both the defendant and the victim. Each line of the indictment showing Thanh's crimes made many people shudder.
In court, Thanh stated that he went to the victim's house that day to borrow 6 million VND to get a birth certificate for his child. However, because Mr. D. only lent him 4 million VND, the couple did not borrow any more. Later, when Mr. D. invited him to stay and eat dog meat and drink wine, the couple agreed.
Defendant Thanh testified that while drinking, Mr. D. repeatedly insulted and belittled him and his wife. “He told me that if I slept with my wife for one night, he would lend me money.” The defendant felt insulted and belittled and thought about how his wife had previously told him that Mr. D. had almost had bad intentions towards her, so he attacked her…”, Thanh testified in court.
After Mr. D. died, out of fear, the defendant hid the body in the pond. This process was assisted by his younger brother. Attending the court, Nguyen Van Chien stated that he did not participate in the murder of the victim. When he saw his brother attacking Mr. D., out of fear, Chien ran away but was grabbed by his brother, then asked to carry the body to the pond, so he did as he was told. The investigation agency determined that Nguyen Van Chien committed the crime of Concealing a Criminal, but when he committed the crime, Chien was only 15 years and 7 days old, so he should not be held criminally responsible. Currently, Chien is being handed over to the commune authorities for education by the police.
Appearing in court with her husband, defendant Kim Anh confessed that she did not report her husband’s murder to the police. The reason she gave was that her child was still young and she was afraid that he would lose his father, so she kept quiet. It was only when she learned that her husband had turned himself in and confessed to the whole incident that Kim Anh reported it to the police.
Listening to the defendants’ testimony in court, the pain of the victim’s family became even greater. For many months, they could not overcome the pain of their husband and father being murdered. Therefore, when speaking in court, the victim’s family requested that the defendant be strictly tried. Regarding the civil case, they requested that the defendant pay more than 1.2 billion VND in compensation.
The tense trial with many issues that needed to be clarified lasted nearly a day. After deliberation, the panel of judges determined that the defendant's murder was a hooliganism, disregard for the law, and that the defendant Nguyen Van Thanh deliberately committed the crime to the end was an aggravating circumstance, so they decided to permanently remove the defendant from society by the death penalty. For the crime of concealing a criminal, the court sentenced Nguyen Thi Kim Anh to 24 months in prison with a suspended sentence.
Regarding the civil part, the court ordered the defendant to compensate the victim's family nearly 300 million VND for funeral expenses, mental damage and 2 million VND per month in child support for the youngest child, 11 years old, until he is 18 years old.
Sentenced to death, defendant Nguyen Van Thanh collapsed and panicked, while his wife stood next to him and burst into tears. Thanh had to pay for his crimes with a severe sentence from the law.
The end of the trial was not only a death sentence, but also a wake-up call about the fragile line between crime - when just one minute of losing control can ruin a life and bring tragedy to many people...
