After their father's fit of jealousy, the two children became orphans.

Over two days (June 9-10), relatives and villagers held two funerals for Mr. Le Dinh S. (born in 1978, residing in Hamlet 4, Trang Son Commune, Do Luong District) and his wife. Everything remained the same, only the obituary sign and the coffin were replaced. Their two young children were brought by relatives to stand before their mother's portrait. The older child, 6 years old, seemed to understand a little of the family's grief, while the younger child (over 3 years old) remained innocent and playful.

"Yesterday afternoon, while we were at his father's funeral, the little boy was still busy playing with his walking stick. Poor thing, he's so young, he probably doesn't know he's lost both his parents, and his future is uncertain," his maternal aunt lamented for the two children.

Ms. Nguyen Thi L. (born in 1990) - wife of Mr. S.deathAfter a day of emergency treatment at the hospital, on the evening of June 8th, the woman was stabbed multiple times by her husband, resulting in serious injuries. After stabbing his wife, Mr. S. took a can of gasoline to a neighbor's house, one house away, poured it onto the ground, and set it on fire. After committing the crime, he drove away from the scene on his motorbike and plunged into a water canal. On the morning of June 9th, Mr. S.'s body was found and handed over to his family for burial.

Ms. L. is Mr. S.'s third wife. His two previous marriages ended in divorce due to childlessness and marital conflicts. Therefore, when Ms. L. gave birth to two sons, Mr. S. was overjoyed and doted on them. He was also considered hardworking and ambitious in business, but his ventures were unsuccessful. His biggest weakness was his jealousy, which is believed to be the root cause of today's tragedy.

In just two days, family and neighbors held two funerals for the couple, Ms. L. and Mr. S. Photo: Nhu Binh

“Mr. S. is basically a good, responsible person, but he’s excessively jealous, sometimes to an unreasonable degree. Ms. L. works as a factory worker, and Mr. S. keeps track of her home time. If she’s even five or seven minutes late, he suspects she’s meeting another man. One day, Ms. L. came home a little later than usual, and Mr. S. went to pick her up, leading to an argument. His obsessive jealousy and unreasonable behavior led to arguments, and if Ms. L. argued back, she was beaten,” said Ms. H., a neighbor.

According to Ms. Luong Thi Ngoc, head of Hamlet 4, Mr. S. and his wife frequently had conflicts and arguments. Local authorities had repeatedly intervened, mediated, and advised them against it, but Mr. S. refused to change, even without evidence of his wife's infidelity. Recently, Mr. S. has shown signs of depression, often muttering to himself.

"Before Tet (Lunar New Year), the couple had a fight, and Ms. L. left to go back to her parents' house. During that time, Mr. S. took care of the two young children alone and repeatedly asked others to intervene so that his wife would return," Ms. Ngoc said.

After being advised by relatives, Ms. L. agreed to return and mend their family happiness. However, Mr. S. only changed for a short time. This time, Mr. S.'s "rival" was Mr. D. (a neighbor living one house away). Ms. Nguyen Thi H. - Mr. D.'s wife - recounted: "That day, before the Lunar New Year, my husband was in the yard and saw Ms. L. sweeping the street near the neighborhood flowerbed, so he reminded her to clean up the trash. That's all, but Mr. S. still suspected my husband and his wife of having an affair. My husband works far away all year round, only coming home for a few days during holidays, so what could he possibly have with Ms. L.?" Her husband's baseless jealousy, coupled with the traumatic experience of her house burning down, has left Ms. H. sleepless for the past two nights.

The two young children of Ms. L. and her husband seem unaware that from today, they will become orphans. Photo: Nhu Binh

Ms. Luong Thi Ngoc believes that both Mr. S. and his wife, Ms. L., are partly to blame for this tragic outcome. While Mr. S. is hot-tempered and jealous, Ms. L. lacks the necessary gentleness and tact of a wife. On the night of the incident, Mr. S. had drunk a couple of glasses of wine. When she saw her husband threatening her with a knife, Ms. L. did not run away but remained standing despite her mother-in-law's advice to leave and her inappropriate words, which angered her husband, causing him to stab her multiple times...

This afternoon, Ms. L.'s funeral was completed. The tragedy of this woman's life ended in a way no one wished for. But what will the future hold for the two children, orphaned at such a young age?