Police shift investigation into the murder of the young woman delivering chicken.

On April 7th, the Dien Bien Provincial Police announced they are continuing their investigation into the murder of the young woman who delivered chickens, with Vi Van Toan (38 years old) suspected of being the mastermind. Toan has just been charged and is under investigation for two offenses.Murder and BKidnapping for the purpose of extorting property."The case continues to reveal many new and complex details, so the forces are focusing on clarifying them," the provincial police leader said, adding that the defendants' statements still need to be verified.

Previously, at the start of the investigation, police determined that Bui Van Cong (44 years old) was the mastermind, along with his drug-addicted friends, planning to lure the female student delivering chicken to their location in order to rob her of her belongings and then rape her.

In the latest development, according to the police, the defendants confessed that on the afternoon of February 4th (the afternoon of the 30th of the Lunar New Year), Toan, along with Luong Van La (26 years old), Luong Van Hung (29 years old), Pham Van Nhiem (47 years old), and Vuong Van Hung (35 years old), used drugs at Cong's house. Toan then told the 22-year-old female student's mother that she owed him money, so he asked the group to kidnap the student and hold her for a few days to pressure her into paying. Toan promised to pay them fully with money and drugs, so the whole group agreed.

At approximately 4 PM on February 4th (the 30th day of the 12th lunar month), Vuong Van Hung went to the market pretending to buy chickens and asked for the female student's phone number. At 6:40 PM the same day, he called the female student to order 13 chickens, requesting delivery to the Doc Lap Hill area (Dien Bien Phu city).After planning, Vuong Van Hung was assigned to meet the female student at the market to deliver chicken. Cong, La, Nhiem, and Luong Van Hung were tasked with lying in wait at the meeting point to abduct the victim.

The girl arrived at the location and was overpowered by Vuong Van Hung, who used an iron chain to strangle her until she fainted and took her to an abandoned house. The group then put the victim in the back of a truck and drove her to Cong's house to hold her captive.

From the evening of the 30th of Tet (February 4th) to the early morning of the 3rd day of Tet (February 7th), the group consisting of Cong, Vuong Van Hung, Nhiem, La, Luong Van Hung, along with Pham Van Dung (47 years old) and Cam Van Chuong (45 years old), took turns raping the victim inside Cong's house in Thanh Nua commune, Dien Bien district.

For three consecutive days, Bui Thi Kim Thu (44 years old, Cong's wife) witnessed her husband and his drug-addicted friends raping and murdering the female student who delivered chicken. However, Thu did not report it to the police and pretended to be the first person to discover the victim's body. When summoned, she gave false testimony and employed various tactics to mislead the investigation.

On the afternoon of the second day of Tet (Lunar New Year), seeing that the female student's health was deteriorating, the group murdered the victim to cover their tracks and dispose of the body in an abandoned house about 100 meters from Cong's house.

To date, police have charged all nine suspects for investigation into various offenses.Murder, Robbery, Rape, Illegally possessing narcotics, Unlawful detention, Kidnapping for ransom, and Failure to report a crime.

Pham Du