Suspecting the homeowner was flirting with his wife, the husband committed murder after a drinking session.
While borrowing money with his wife, Thanh was invited to stay for drinks by the homeowner. During the drinking session, suspecting the homeowner of having ill intentions towards his wife, Thanh coldly murdered him. After committing the crime, the perpetrator submerged the victim's body in a pond and erased all evidence. For this heinous crime, Thanh received the maximum sentence.
Murder committed after loan attempt failed.
In the early days of 2025, while everyone was busy preparing for the Lunar New Year, the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Tran Van D. (born in 1970, residing in Phuc Son commune, now Anh Son commune, Nghe An province) caused much concern. Mr. D. had a wife and three children, but before his disappearance, his wife and youngest child had moved out to rent a place because of some marital discord (the two older children had already moved out).
On January 19, 2025, the daughter, who had recently married, visited her parents' home but couldn't find her father. Upon checking the house, she discovered a disturbance and reported it to the police. Authorities immediately launched an investigation and found Mr. D.'s body in a pond near his house. When discovered, the victim's body was pinned down by a metal plate and several bricks. Initially determining this to be a murder case, the police launched an investigation to apprehend the perpetrator.
Shortly afterward, the suspects were summoned by the investigating agency, including Nguyen Van Thanh (born in 2004), Nguyen Thi Kim Anh (born in 2004, Thanh's wife), and Nguyen Van Chien (born in 2010, Thanh's younger brother), all residing in Long Son commune, former Anh Son district, now Yen Xuan commune, Nghe An province. Initially, the suspects did not admit to the crime. However, on February 20, 2025, Thanh surrendered to the police and confessed to killing Mr. D. Subsequently, Nguyen Thi Kim Anh also reported concealing the crime. From here, the motive for the case was revealed.
According to the suspects' statements, on the afternoon of January 17, 2025, Nguyen Van Thanh and his wife went to Mr. D.'s house to borrow money, using their motorbike as collateral. After inspecting the motorbike, Mr. D. only lent them 4 million dong, so Thanh and his wife did not borrow any more. Afterwards, Mr. D.'s family invited Thanh and his wife to stay for lunch. While Mr. D. went to the kitchen to prepare the meal, Thanh went to the pigsty, while Kim Anh sat on a wooden platform in the middle of the yard. Later, Thanh heard his wife crying and went to ask what was wrong, but Kim Anh said nothing.
After having a few drinks, Thanh and his wife went home. On the way home, Kim Anh told her husband about being pushed down by Mr. D., who had ill intentions. Hearing this, Thanh became angry, so that afternoon he and his wife returned to Mr. D.'s house to "talk." Upon arrival, Thanh sat and drank with Mr. D., while Kim Anh left earlier. During the drinking session, Thanh felt that Mr. D. had made "many insulting remarks" to him and his wife, which angered him.
Around 7 PM, seeing that her husband hadn't returned, Kim Anh asked her husband's younger brother, Nguyen Van Chien, to go pick up Thanh. Upon arriving, Chien saw his brother and Mr. D. sitting and drinking. A short while later, Nguyen Van Thanh brought a tray of food down to the kitchen. Seeing the knife, he had a sinister intention. Thanh took the knife, stood behind Mr. D., and suddenly slashed him in the head, causing Mr. D. to fall face down on the ground. Not stopping there, Thanh continued to slash Mr. D. five more times in the head, resulting in his death.
Seeing his brother attack Mr. D., Chien panicked and ran away, but Thanh chased after him and grabbed him. Thanh threatened his brother, "If you run, I'll kill you. Come here and take Mr. D.'s body to the pond and throw it in." Chien stood still and said nothing. Afterwards, because Thanh forced him, Chien helped carry Mr. D.'s body to the pond. Then, the two brothers used iron plates and bricks to weigh down the victim's body so that it sank to the bottom of the pond.
Upon entering the house and seeing blood on the table and cement floor, Thanh used a rag to wipe them clean. The killer also took documents such as the citizen's identity card, notebook, and phone, all stained with blood, and burned them elsewhere for fear of being discovered.
After returning home, Thanh told his wife about killing Mr. D., and instructed her and his younger brother, "Now that it's happened, don't tell anyone, not even your parents." Fearing that fingerprints might still be on the murder weapon, Thanh returned to Mr. D.'s house that evening to wash away the blood and clean the knife. Before leaving, he locked the gate and threw the key into the pond. After settling everything, Thanh went home to sleep.
Death sentence
For the aforementioned crimes, Nguyen Van Thanh was brought to trial for murder. Meanwhile, his wife, Nguyen Thi Kim Anh, was tried for concealing a crime. On the day of the trial, the courtroom of the Nghe An Provincial Court was quite crowded. Most of them were relatives of both the defendant and the victim. Each line of the indictment detailing Thanh's crimes sent shivers down many people's spines.
Before the witness stand, Thanh stated that his purpose in going to the victim's house that day was to borrow 6 million dong to get a birth certificate for his child. However, because Mr. D. only lent him 4 million dong, the couple did not borrow any more. Afterwards, when Mr. D. invited them to stay and eat dog meat and drink alcohol, the couple agreed.
Defendant Thanh testified that during the drinking session, Mr. D. repeatedly insulted and belittled him and his wife. “He told me that if I let him sleep with my wife for one night, he would lend me money.” Feeling insulted and belittled, and remembering that his wife had previously recounted how Mr. D. had almost harmed her, Thanh decided to retaliate…,” Thanh testified in court.
After Mr. D. died, out of fear, the defendant hid the body in a pond. This process was assisted by his younger brother. At the trial, Nguyen Van Chien testified that he did not participate in the murder. He said that when he saw his brother kill Mr. D., he panicked and tried to run away, but his brother grabbed him and then demanded that he carry the body to the pond, which he complied with. The investigating agency determined that Nguyen Van Chien committed the crime of Concealing a Crime, but because he was only 15 years and 7 days old when he committed the crime, he is not criminally liable. Currently, Chien is being handled by the local authorities for rehabilitation.
Appearing in court alongside her husband, defendant Kim Anh confessed that she did not report her husband's murder to the police. Her reason was that she kept quiet because her child was young and she feared the child would lose their father. Only after learning that her husband had turned himself in and confessed to the entire crime did Kim Anh report it to the police.
Listening to the defendants' testimonies in court, the pain of the victim's family intensified. For months, they have been unable to overcome the grief of losing their husband and father. Therefore, when given the opportunity to speak in court, the victim's family requested a fair trial for the defendants. Regarding civil matters, they demanded that the defendants compensate them with over 1.2 billion VND.
The trial was tense, with many issues requiring clarification, lasting nearly a day. After deliberation, the panel of judges determined that the defendant's act of murder was brutal, showing disregard for the law, and that Nguyen Van Thanh's deliberate pursuit of the crime to the end constituted an aggravating circumstance. Therefore, they decided to permanently remove the defendant from society by sentencing him to death. For the crime of concealing a crime, the court sentenced Nguyen Thi Kim Anh to 24 months of imprisonment with a suspended sentence.
Regarding the civil aspect, the court ordered the defendant to compensate the victim's family nearly 300 million VND for funeral expenses, emotional distress, and to provide monthly support of 2 million VND for the youngest child, aged 11, until the child reaches 18 years old.
Sentenced to death, defendant Nguyen Van Thanh was devastated and terrified, while his wife, standing beside him, burst into tears. Thanh had paid the price for his crimes with a strict sentence from the law.
The conclusion of the trial was not only a death sentence, but also a wake-up call about the fragile line between crime and crime – when a moment of losing control can ruin an entire life and bring tragedy to many...