The jealous father and the wedding 'pillow' funeral

Murder on the wedding day

10 years have passed but every time she mentions her ill-fated daughter, Mrs. Nguyen TH (born in 1946), residing in Quynh Ba commune, Quynh Luu district, still has tears in her eyes. When her second daughter, Nguyen Thi C., had an accident, Mrs. Nguyen TH had to take care of her two grandchildren who had just entered secondary school and encouraged the three sisters to try to be strong to overcome the family crisis. What makes her love her grandchildren even more is that the person who caused their mother's death and orphanage was their biological father...

On the afternoon of July 17, 2013, Quynh Luu District Police received a report of a murder in the area. The victim of the case was Ms. Nguyen Thi C. (39 years old), residing in Quynh Ba Commune (Quynh Luu). It is known that at that time, Ms. C. had just returned from working in the South and the main perpetrator was Nguyen Van Thanh (born in 1974), residing in Quynh Ba Commune, her husband in marriage.

Earlier, on the same morning, the eldest daughter of Ms. C. and her husband had a wedding ceremony with a groom from the same district. After the wedding was over, Thanh's siblings, relatives, and friends left. Knowing that Ms. C. and her husband were having conflicts and living apart, relatives and friends advised the two to return to live together soon. Ms. C. accepted and went to Thanh's great-grandfather's house to visit and play. At that time, Thanh was at home and was upset that Ms. C. had just returned from the South just before her daughter's wedding, so he went to his great-grandfather's house, held Ms. C.'s hand, and pulled her out to the alley to talk.

However, Ms. C. tried to hold herself back and did not want to go out. Afraid that something bad would happen, the neighbor stopped Mr. Thanh and pulled Ms. C.'s hand back. Immediately after, Nguyen Van Thanh suddenly pulled out a sharp knife that he had hidden in his person and stabbed her straight in the left chest, causing Ms. C. to collapse on the floor. The stab was so strong that the victim died on the spot.

Upon receiving the news, Quynh Ba Commune Police immediately arrived at the scene and reported to the District Police. When the police arrived, the perpetrator Nguyen Van Thanh had surrendered and confessed to all his actions. The initial investigation by the authorities showed that the victim died from a sharp knife stab deep into the left chest, causing a punctured heart, leading to massive bleeding and death.

Tragedy originates from violence

Nguyen Van Thanh and Ms. C. were friends of the same age who grew up together in Quynh Lam commune (Quynh Luu). Admiring her hard-working and compassionate nature, Ms. C. gradually developed a certain affection for her classmate. After finishing high school, they were supported and created conditions for each other by both families. They moved to Quynh Ba, Mr. Thanh's maternal hometown, to start a business. The couple encouraged each other to work hard in the fields and raise livestock. Mr. Thanh also took on extra work for others to earn money to take care of his wife and children. The family seemed to be more complete when they gave birth to 3 children.

However, the daily grind of life made Thanh depressed and addicted to alcohol. Every time he got drunk, hejealous, suspicious, often questioning his wife. Not only that, Mr. Thanh also got into gambling, causing the family's economy to decline, and the conflict between husband and wife increased. From a gentle husband, he was ready to "beat his wife" whenever he was angry. For the sake of the children, Ms. C. also accepted so that the family could "live in peace". In 2004, Mr. Thanh went to work abroad but only returned after 1 year, the couple pooled the remaining capital to renovate the house they were living in.

Because he still owed money to build a house, Thanh listened to his family and went to the South to work hard to pay off the debt. Ironically, fate played a joke on the couple's situation. Not long after arriving, the travel expenses were not enough to pay back the capital when Thanh drove a motorbike and caused a traffic accident that killed someone. The traffic accident resulted in Thanh being sentenced to 3 years in prison.

In 2007, Thanh finished his prison term and returned to his hometown. The long separation from his wife, combined with the debt piling up on top of another, caused the marital conflict to increase. Many times, in front of his children and parents, Thanh beat his wife to the point of death. As if to tease his wife, Thanh also had many extramarital affairs with many other women in the village but was still unreasonably jealous of his wife.

After a long period of unemployment, the family had many mouths to feed, forcing Thanh to go to the South again to make a living. However, with a jealous nature, afraid that his wife would have another man, Thanh forced Ms. C. and her youngest son to go to the South to live with him. In the South, Ms. C. tried to work during the day to send money home for her two daughters, and at night she endured unreasonable beatings from her husband. Due to her alcoholism and criminal record, Thanh had to return to his hometown again because he could not find a job. Taking this opportunity, Ms. C. stayed in the South to work, despite Nguyen Van Thanh's many calls to force his wife to return home. It was not until she married her eldest daughter that Ms. C. returned home after many years of separation, but she did not expect that it would be the last time she would be with her children.

On the day of Ms. C.'s funeral, hundreds of villagers were saddened by the heartbreaking murder because in a moment Thanh had committed such a terrible murder that surprised everyone. The most serious consequence of the case was none other than the family's school-age children who were suddenly left alone.

The haunting trial

Nguyen Van Thanh's appeal hearing was held by the Supreme People's Court on May 28, 2014. It is known that before that, the People's Court of Nghe An province sentenced Nguyen Van Thanh to life in prison for "Murder". After receiving the verdict, Thanh submitted a petition to the Supreme People's Court for a reduced sentence.

At the appeal hearing, Thanh confessed to all his actions and gave the reason that he still had to support 3 children and an elderly mother, so he wanted a reduced sentence to have a chance to return.
Thanh explained his mistake in court that, for nearly 3 years since leaving her husband and children to go to the South, Ms. C. had not once called her husband. Frustrated by this, at the end of 2012, Thanh filed a divorce petition to the authorities to notify them to send messages to find his wife to complete the divorce procedures but to no avail. Until today, when his wife returned to her eldest daughter's wedding, because of the resentment that had been pent up inside her for a long time, Thanh committed a heartbreaking murder.

According to the victim’s family, the victim’s children could not believe in their mother’s painful end and fainted during the funeral. The eldest daughter had not yet had time to enjoy the joy of the big day when she had to wear a mourning scarf for her mother when the murderer of her mother was her father.

However, at both the first and second instance trials, the three sisters still submitted petitions for a reduced sentence for their erring father. Thanh's eldest daughter shared: "No matter what, that person is still our father, the one who gave birth to us three sisters. Although we are extremely angry with the person who killed our mother, as children, we still ask for a reduced sentence so that our father has the opportunity to return home to burn incense before our mother's portrait."

After reviewing the entire case, it was found that the defendant Nguyen Van Thanh’s actions were extremely hooligan, violent, and of a particularly serious nature, depriving another person of life. The reasons Thanh gave were considered at the first instance trial, so the panel decided to reject the appeal and uphold the original sentence against Nguyen Van Thanh.

Nguyen Van Thanh has paid a price for his actions. However, when will the pain of his children subside? The three children, who originally had a happy home, are now orphans with their mother and father in prison.

This is not only a big lesson for Nguyen Van Thanh but also for those who are, were, or are about to be parents to think about the consequences that children have to endure when parents cannot control themselves and commit regrettable acts.