The jealous father and the funeral that served as a wedding pillow.

Murder on the wedding day

Ten years have passed, but every time she mentions her unfortunate daughter, Mrs. Nguyen TH (born in 1946), residing in Quynh Ba commune, Quynh Luu district, still gets teary-eyed. At the time her second daughter, Nguyen Thi C., was involved in the tragedy, Mrs. Nguyen TH had to go and take care of her two grandchildren who had just started secondary school, and she encouraged the three sisters to be strong and overcome the family tragedy. What makes her feel even more sorry for her grandchildren is that the person who caused their orphanhood and the death of their mother was their own father...

On the afternoon of July 17, 2013, the Quỳnh Lưu District Police received a report of a murder in the area. The victim was Ms. Nguyễn Thị C. (39 years old), residing in Quỳnh Bá commune (Quỳnh Lưu). It was learned that at the time, Ms. C. had just returned from working in the South, and the perpetrator was Nguyễn Văn Thành (born in 1974), residing in Quỳnh Bá commune, her legally married husband.

Earlier that morning, the eldest daughter of Ms. C. and her husband had her wedding ceremony with a groom from the same district. After the wedding, Thành's relatives, friends, and family left. Knowing that Ms. C. and her husband were having marital problems and living separately, relatives and friends advised them to reconcile. Ms. C. agreed and went to Thành's great-grandfather's house to visit and spend time together. At that time, Thành was at his own house and, upset that Ms. C. had only just returned from the South so close to her daughter's wedding, went to his great-grandfather's house, grabbed Ms. C.'s hand, and pulled her outside to talk.

However, Ms. C. stubbornly refused to go outside. Fearing something bad might happen, the neighbor intervened, restraining Mr. Thanh and pulling Ms. C. back. Immediately afterward, Nguyen Van Thanh unexpectedly pulled out a sharp knife he had concealed on his person and stabbed Ms. C. directly in the left chest, causing her to collapse to the floor. The stab was so forceful that the victim died on the spot.

Upon receiving the report, the Quỳnh Bá commune police immediately arrived at the scene and notified the district police. When the police arrived, the perpetrator, Nguyễn Văn Thành, had already surrendered and confessed to his entire crime. Initial examination by the authorities revealed that the victim died from a single stab wound to the left side of the chest, which punctured the heart and caused massive bleeding leading to death.

Tragedy stems from violence.

Nguyen Van Thanh and Ms. C. were childhood friends who grew up together in Quynh Lam commune (Quynh Luu district). Admiring his hard work and compassion, Ms. C. gradually developed strong feelings for her classmate. After finishing high school, they received support and encouragement from both families. They moved to Quynh Ba, Mr. Thanh's maternal hometown, to start a new life. The couple diligently worked in farming and livestock raising. Mr. Thanh also took on extra work to earn money to support his wife and children. Their family life seemed complete when they had three children.

However, the burden of making ends meet weighed heavily on Thanh, causing him to become depressed and addicted to alcohol. Whenever he got drunk, he would...jealousSuspicious, he frequently questioned his wife. Not only that, Mr. Thanh also became addicted to gambling, causing the family's finances to decline and marital conflicts to escalate. From a gentle husband, he was ready to physically abuse his wife whenever he was angry. For the sake of their children, Ms. C. endured it to maintain harmony in the family. In 2004, Mr. Thanh went abroad for work, but only for a year before returning. The couple pooled their remaining savings to renovate their house.

Because he still owed money for building his house, Thanh followed his family's advice and went to the South to work and pay off the debt. Tragically, fate played a cruel trick on the couple; they hadn't been there long, and before they had even recouped their travel expenses, Thanh was involved in a fatal traffic accident while driving his motorbike. The accident resulted in Thanh receiving a three-year prison sentence.

In 2007, Thanh was released from prison and returned to his hometown. The long separation, coupled with mounting debts, intensified marital conflicts. On several occasions, in front of their children and parents, Thanh beat his wife severely. As if to spite her, Thanh also had extramarital affairs with other women in the village, yet he remained unreasonably jealous of his wife.

Unemployed for a long time, with a large family to feed, Thanh was forced to go south again to make a living. However, due to his jealous nature and fear that his wife might have another man, Thanh forced Ms. C. and their youngest son to live with him in the South. In the South, Ms. C. tried her best to work during the day and send money back to her two daughters at home, enduring unreasonable beatings from her husband at night. Because of his alcoholism and previous criminal record, Thanh was forced to return home again because he couldn't find a job. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ms. C. stayed in the South to work, despite Nguyen Van Thanh's repeated calls to force her to return home. It wasn't until her eldest daughter's wedding that Ms. C. returned home after many years of separation from her children, but she never imagined that it would be the last time she would be with them.

On the day of Ms. C.'s funeral, hundreds of villagers were heartbroken by the tragic murder, as Thành had suddenly committed such a heinous crime, surprising everyone. The most devastating consequence of the crime was that the family's young children, still of school age, were suddenly left orphaned.

The haunting trial

Nguyen Van Thanh's appeal trial was held by the Supreme People's Court on May 28, 2014. It is known that previously, the People's Court of Nghe An province had sentenced Nguyen Van Thanh to life imprisonment for "murder". After receiving the sentence, Thanh submitted a petition to the Supreme People's Court requesting a reduction in his sentence.

At the appeal hearing, Thanh confessed to all his actions and stated that he had three children and an elderly mother to support, so he hoped for a reduced sentence so he could have a chance to return home.
Thành confessed his wrongdoing in court, stating that for nearly three years since leaving her husband and children for the South, his wife, C., had never once contacted him by phone. Outraged by this, at the end of 2012, Thành filed for divorce himself and sent a notification to the authorities to try and locate his wife so they could finalize the divorce proceedings, but without success. Today, when his wife returned for their eldest daughter's wedding, the pent-up resentment led Thành to commit this heartbreaking murder.

According to the victim's family, the children were so distraught over their mother's tragic end that they fainted at the funeral. The eldest daughter, who hadn't even had a chance to enjoy her wedding day, had to wear a mourning veil when she learned that the murderer was none other than her own father.

However, at both the initial trial and the appeal, the three sisters still submitted petitions for a reduced sentence for their wrongful father. Thanh's eldest daughter shared: "No matter what, he is still our father, the one who gave birth to us three sisters. Although we are extremely angry at the person who murdered our mother, as his children, we ask for a reduced sentence so that he can have the opportunity to return and light an incense stick before our mother's portrait."

After reviewing the entire case, the panel of judges found that the defendant Nguyen Van Thanh's actions were extremely brutal, aggressive, and of a particularly serious nature, depriving another person of their life. The reasons Thanh presented were considered at the first-instance trial, therefore the panel of judges decided to reject the appeal and uphold the first-instance verdict against Nguyen Van Thanh.

Nguyen Van Thanh has paid the price for his actions to some extent. But when will the pain of his children subside? Three children who once had a happy home are now orphaned, their father is in prison.

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