He murdered his ex-wife because his attempts to reconcile failed.
The defendant and the victim were formerly married. Although divorced, Ha was always unreasonably jealous and forbade his ex-wife from having romantic relationships with other men. When his ex-wife refused to remarry, Ha took the life of the woman he had once shared his life with.
On January 17th, the Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a trial to hear the case against defendant Nguyen Van Ha (born in 1980), residing in Dien Hong commune, Dien Chau district, for the crime of "murder". The victim in the case was the defendant's ex-wife, Tran TN (born in 1983, residing in Dien Thap commune).
Nguyen Van Ha and Ms. N. married in 2002 and had two children together. They divorced in 2018, and the two children lived with Ha. Despite the divorce, Ha remained unreasonably jealous and forbade Ms. N. from having romantic relationships with other men.
In February 2023, upon seeing his ex-wife talking on the phone with another man, Ha attacked Ms. N. with a knife, causing injuries. Ha was fined for the administrative violation by the authorities on that occasion. Despite this, the man continued his blind jealousy.
According to the case file, at approximately 6:45 PM on October 16, 2024, wanting to find Ms. N. to ask her to return and live together, Ha rode his motorbike to the company where his ex-wife worked in Dien Truong commune, Dien Chau district. Before leaving, Ha took a knife with him, thinking that if Ms. N. did not agree, he would stab her.
At 7:20 PM, upon seeing Ms. N. traveling on National Highway 1A, Ha asked his ex-wife to stop the car to talk. Ha said, "You abandoned your child to have an affair for several years, now come back and live with your child." Ms. N. disagreed, leading to an argument between the two.
Suddenly, Ha grabbed a knife and stabbed his ex-wife multiple times, causing her death on the spot.
After committing the crime, Ha discarded the weapon and fled to Vinh City to meet a relative. That same night, Ha surrendered to the Nghe An Provincial Police.
At the trial, the defendant admitted to the crime as charged in the indictment. Regarding the motive, the defendant stated that he had repeatedly asked his ex-wife to remarry so that "the child could have both a father and a mother," but she refused, leading to resentment.
The victim's legal representative attended the trial and requested that the defendant be tried according to the law. Meanwhile, the defendant's son asked the court to consider mitigating circumstances and reduce his father's sentence.
During the indictment phase, the representative of the People's Procuracy of Nghe An province, acting as the prosecutor at the trial, requested a life sentence for the defendant.
After the trial proceedings, the panel of judges decided to adjourn for deliberation.
