Young man beats elderly woman to death over 10,000 VND.
In the middle of the night, Lo Van Duong went to the house of an 84-year-old woman to ask for 10,000 dong to buy alcohol. When she refused, Duong used an iron bar to beat her to death.
On January 14th, the People's Court of Nghe An province held a first-instance trial to hear the case against Lo Van Duong (born in 1995), residing in Chieu Luu commune, Ky Son district (Nghe An province), for the crime of murder. The victim in the case was Mrs. Lo Thi H. (born in 1939).
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According to the case file, on the evening of April 20, 2024, Lo Van Duong's family held a dinner and drank alcohol. Because Duong was HIV-positive and lived in unsanitary conditions, his family did not allow him to eat with them. They provided him with food and drinks to share with a friend.
After eating, Duong walked to Mrs. Lo Thi H.'s house. When Mrs. H. opened the door, Duong said, "Can I have 10,000 dong to buy some alcohol?" At this point, Mrs. H. pushed Duong away and said, "Go home, I'll give it to you tomorrow, it's late now."
Immediately afterwards, Duong grabbed the iron bar he was carrying and struck Mrs. H. repeatedly in the face and body. Having suffered numerous blows from the young man, Mrs. H. fell to the ground unconscious.
After committing the crime, Duong went home and slept as if nothing had happened. The next morning, Mrs. H.'s son arrived at the house and discovered his mother had died from a fractured skull. Shortly afterward, Duong was arrested by the police and investigated for murder.
During his detention, noticing Lo Van Duong's abnormal psychological behavior, the investigating agency requested a psychiatric evaluation. The conclusion was that Duong suffered from a mental disorder due to heavy drug use.
At the trial, the defendant admitted to the murder. Regarding the motive for the crime, the defendant stated that he became angry because he had asked the victim for money but was refused.
The defendant's father attended the trial to present the family's difficult circumstances and the fact that the defendant had been ill for many years, in order to request a reduced sentence for his son.
The court determined that the defendant's actions were dangerous to society and constituted murder. In this case, the defendant had an aggravating circumstance: committing the crime against a person aged 70 or older. However, the defendant's sincere confession and remorse were mitigating circumstances that should be considered.
After considering all aspects of the case, the court sentenced Lo Van Duong to 20 years in prison for murder. Regarding civil matters, the court ordered the defendant to compensate the victim's family with over 250 million VND.