Shivering confession of the murderer who took someone's life at dawn

Murder on the doorstep

In the early morning of November 13, 2021, hearing screams and calls for help from Ms. Ngan's family, nearby neighbors immediately ran over.

“As soon as Minh N. (Ms. Ngan's son) came over to ask for help, we ran over and saw Ms. Ngan sitting on the porch crying, with Mr. L. lying motionless next to her. We immediately took Mr. L. to the emergency room, but he died on the way,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi H., a neighbor of Ms. Hoang Thi Ngan's family.

The incident was immediately reported to the police. The victim was Mr. Dinh Huu L. (born in 1972), husband of Ms. Hoang Thi Ngan (born in 1974, residing in Nam Linh commune, Nam Dan district, Nghe An). He was disabled, deaf and mute since childhood, and communicated with the surrounding people using sign language. According to the family, the victim most likely died from falling and hitting his head on the threshold, however, the details at the scene as well as the autopsy results did not show that.

The question of the cause of Mr. L's death was immediately raised by the detectives. And the most suspected person was none other than the victim's wife, Ms. Hoang Thi Ngan, who had been sleeping with him for many years. Immediately, Ms. Ngan was invited to the headquarters of the Criminal Police Department for clarification. Here, she still stated that she did not see Mr. L. in the middle of the night, so she woke up to look for him. When she arrived, she saw Mr. L. lying still on the steps, so she asked for help. Her confused expression and intermittent speech helped the detectives know for sure that Ngan was hiding something.

Defendant Hoang Thi Ngan at trial. Photo: An Quynh.

Through the struggle as well as professional measures, on the afternoon of November 13, 2021, Hoang Thi Ngan bowed her head and confessed to her actions. Her statement shocked her family members as well as the surrounding neighbors.

"Mr. L. was born deaf and mute but was gentle and worked hard to take care of his family," said a neighbor of the victim. According to this person, during their time together, Mr. L. and his wife occasionally had conflicts. Mr. L. suffered from headaches, so whenever the weather changed, he would scream or smash things in the house.

The Midnight Brawl

It is known that in early October 2021, Mr. L. suspected that his wife had another man, so from then on the couple had a more serious conflict. On the evening of November 12, 2021, while the couple was sleeping, Mr. L. woke up and broke things. Ngan saw that and asked, but Mr. L. signaled that he had a headache. Ngan gave her husband sedatives and went to bed.

About 30 minutes later, Mr. L. woke up and went outside to smoke tobacco. Hearing a “thud, thud” sound outside the porch, Ms. Ngan went outside and saw Mr. L. banging his head against the porch. When he saw Ms. Ngan come out, Mr. L. chased after her. During the fight, Ms. Ngan used a broom to hit him on the head.

When he saw his eldest daughter, the defendant burst into tears. Photo: An Quynh.

Then, Ngan took an iron bar from the kitchen door and used it as a door latch and ran out into the yard. Seeing Mr. L. fall, Ngan used the door latch to hit Mr. L. on the head; Mr. L. stood up and threw a mop but missed his wife.

Hoang Thi Ngan entered the house and continued to use the door latch to hit Mr. L. on the head, causing him to become dizzy and have to lie down on the hammock. Seeing her husband lying on the hammock, Ngan continued to use the door latch to hit her husband many times on the head. Due to being dizzy, Mr. L. fell to the floor and only had time to pick up a nearby V-shaped iron bar and throw it at his wife. Ngan ran into the kitchen and took a metal mallet to hit her husband repeatedly on the head. Then, seeing Mr. L. fall into the yard, Ngan went into the bathroom, took off her coat, and turned around to see that Mr. L. was still moving. Hoang Thi Ngan continued to use the mallet to hit her husband repeatedly on the head until Mr. L. completely lost consciousness.

After committing the crime, Hoang Thi Ngan dragged her husband to the corner of the yard, took off his clothes and threw them away, and wiped the blood off the victim’s body. Afraid that her actions would be recorded by the camera, Ngan took the tablet and phone and threw them outside.

After cleaning up the “crime scene”, Ngan went in to wake up Hong H.; Minh N. (children of Ms. Ngan and Mr. L.) and said: “Dad is dead, when mom screamed, you and I ran to the neighbor’s house to call for help”. After that, this woman took the glass bottle, the tire pump, threw it in the yard, turned on the lights and sat down crying.

When the victim's son reported the news, the neighbors ran over and found that Mr. L. had died. An autopsy showed that Mr. L. had more than 30 injuries on many parts of his body, and his skull was broken into many pieces. The victim died from a fractured, collapsed skull and a brain hemorrhage due to trauma.

Children's tears

At the end of May, Nghe An Provincial People's Court held a first-instance trial of Hoang Thi Ngan (born 1977, residing in Nam Linh commune, Nam Dan, Nghe An) for the crime of "Murder".

People standing outside watching the trial. Photo: An Quynh.

The trial attracted the attention of many people in Nam Linh commune. From early morning, many people rode motorbikes dozens of kilometers to the court with the hope of attending and witnessing Ngan being punished by the law. However, to ensure security and order, people not related to the case were not allowed to enter the courtroom.

At the trial, the defendant Ngan gave a evasive testimony, blaming the victim. She recounted each act of beating her husband to death without any remorse or tears, surprising everyone in the trial. However, through the testimony of the defendant and related people summoned by the court, it was shown that the victim Dinh Huu L. had never beaten his wife.

The defendant could not explain why she used many weapons to beat her husband to death and kept saying "at that time I was like an animal" and could not think of anything.

The jury found that the defendant intentionally committed the crime to the end, committing the crime against a person with severe disabilities. These are aggravating circumstances prescribed by law.

The defendant's eldest daughter is only 12 years old. Throughout the trial she could only wipe away tears.

It was not until the defendant's eldest daughter was invited by the panel of judges to the hearing, hearing her daughter's trembling, fearful voice, that she burst into tears and sobbed. Throughout the trial, the 12-year-old girl could only bow her head, occasionally wiping her tears with her hand. In just one fateful night, the 12-year-old girl lost her family. Although that family may not be whole and complete, it was a shelter and a place for the two sisters to rely on for many days. What was worse, the images of the case were imprinted on their young souls. How long would it take for those children to forget that guilt?

Considering the case in its entirety, the Trial Panel sentenced Hoang Thi Ngan to life imprisonment, and ordered the defendant to compensate the legal representative of the victim for mental damage equal to 100 months of basic salary, and to provide 1.5 million VND/month for the two children of the defendant and the victim until they are 18 years old...