The moment of losing her mind, the woman used her shirt to kill her husband.

During the trial held at the People's Court of Ha Tinh, Tran Thi Lien (47 years old, resident of Nghi Xuan district) cried many times, saying that she was very remorseful for having committed a serious crime against her husband, so she would accept any sentence. "I hate him, but I don't want him to die. Years of resentment have made me lose my mind and act blindly," the defendant confided.

In tears, the hard-working woman confessed that she had been married to the victim, Phan Anh Son (54 years old), since she was over 20 years old but was not happy. Mr. Son was a patriarchal man and often "kicked and punched" his wife whenever he was not satisfied.

"Many times I thought about giving up, but seeing my children crying, I couldn't bear it. For nearly half my life, I've always been mentally insecure, with more tears than smiles," the defendant cried as she confessed that she accepted to endure her husband to raise her three children to adulthood.

On the morning of July 6, 2018, defendant Lien and her two daughters went to buy food and fruit for their father-in-law’s death anniversary. A few dozen minutes later, Mr. Son, after sitting in the yard and drinking a few cans of beer, scolded his wife and children for 30 minutes. At 1 p.m. that same day, he beat his wife and daughter.

Lien called Pham Thi Thu Hoai (20 years old, daughter) to restrain her father, used rope to tie his hands and lock him in the room. Hearing her daughter ask "Is this too sinful, Mom?", Lien replied: "It's better to tie dad up and feed him properly than let him act like this, it's too miserable. Mom and I are now working and have money, each month we set aside 1 million VND to support him."

Late at night, when Mr. Son continued to curse in his room, Lien went in and used tape to cover his mouth. Around 1 a.m. the next day, while the children were sleeping, she sneaked into the room, took a long shirt and wrapped it around her husband's neck, causing his death. The mother and son were later arrested by Nghi Xuan District Police.

Ms. Lien cried, regretting committing a serious crime against her husband. Photo: D.H

In court in March, defendant Lien said she regretted her rash actions because she never thought of taking her husband's life. Admitting that she had committed a serious crime, the defendant looked at her daughter with trembling hands and asked the court to reduce her sentence as an accomplice. "She only followed her mother's request and had no intention of harming her father," the defendant choked up.

At the trial, the victim’s family representative and Lien’s relatives cried so much that they could not answer the jury’s questions. They were sad for the two irreconcilable fates, leaving their children helpless.

The court found that Lien and her mother had cruelly taken the life of another person, but it also needed to be considered because the victim was partly at fault, and both parties had petitioned for a reduction in sentence. The panel sentenced Lien to 4 years and 6 months in prison for the crime ofKillingandIllegal detention, Hoai received a 6-month suspended sentence for the crimeIllegal detention.

The representative of the People's Procuracy shared that in many years of working, this is a trial that has left him with many worries and anguish. "This tragedy comes from confinement, suffocation, and suspicion," the prosecutor said, hoping that other couples will see this as a lesson, not to let anger cause the whole family to fall apart.