Burglar hiding under the bed murdered homeowner

When discovered, the 20-year-old killer strangled and tied the woman's hands, stripped her of her clothes, leaving only her underwear, tied her hands and threw her into the stream.

On the morning of April 5, 2015, people in Khanh Hoa commune (Luc Yen district, Yen Bai) discovered the body of Ms. Huong (33 years old) under a stream in village 8. Examining the scene, authorities determined that the victim had died a few hours ago, her hands were tied with the clothes she was wearing, and she had some gold jewelry on her body.

According to the detectives, the victim’s body had a small cut on the back of her hand, arm, and a mark on her neck, indicating signs of strangulation. Yen Bai Provincial Police determined that the victim was tied up and thrown into a stream, then died of drowning. Because Ms. Huong was only wearing underwear, the police opened an additional investigation into the suspicion of sexual assault.

A few hundred meters from the main scene, at the victim’s rented house next to the highway, the door was wide open, the expensive scooter was still there. The blankets and two cell phones were burned. There were traces of blood on the leaves around the cornfield next to the house, and some trees were broken.

The place where Ms. Huong's body was found. Photo:CA

The task force put forward many hypotheses, maybe this was a murder and robbery case, or a love affair, or a business conflict. What was the motive, what grudge did the killer have against the victim that made him so cruel... were questions that gave the investigators a headache.

The authorities said the victim was a widow who rented a room in Luc Yen district to work as a fresh cassava collector. Her two children were being cared for by relatives in Vinh Phuc. She was considered a reputable businesswoman, always fair, and had no grudges against anyone.

The investigation team determined that the blood stains collected at the scene had many inconsistent patterns. The results showed that they were not the victim's blood, but most likely the murderer's. The police summoned young people who were hanging around and partying in the area, and set up a mailbox asking people to report crimes to find clues.

The "knot" of the case was revealed when a young man in Khanh Hoa commune said that on the night of the incident, he met his friend named Ly Van Chuc (20 years old) walking on the street with a panicked attitude, his body covered in mud.

Chuc was sentenced to death for two crimes: Murder and Robbery. Photo: CA

According to local authorities, Chuc was a playboy, unmotivated, and often stole money from his family. When the police arrived at his home, Chuc had already left.

Considering Chuc to be the prime suspect in the case, many detective teams were deployed to check motels and roads in Luc Yen district and neighboring areas to search for him. On the morning of April 7, 2015, upon receiving information that the young man had taken a taxi to Yen Bai General Hospital to have his injuries examined, the police tightened the siege.

Chuc confessed that he was short of money so he planned to break into Ms. Huong's room to steal property. On the night of April 5, 2015, Chuc was rummaging through things when the homeowner came back from the garden, so he had to hide under the bed.

A moment later, Chuc crawled out from under the bed to continue searching for his belongings, but was discovered by Ms. Huong, who shouted. He ran into the cornfield behind, but was chased by Ms. Huong and bitten on the hand. He fought back and tried to escape. Chuc pushed her down, strangled her, took off her clothes, tied her hands, and threw the unconscious woman into the stream.

After committing the crime, Chuc returned to the victim's motel room and took 25 million VND from the drawer. To distract the police, he did not take the motorbike or expensive phone but set it on fire to destroy the evidence. However, the fire was extinguished before it caught fire on some of the items used.

In 2016, the People's Court of Yen Bai province sentenced Chuc to death for two crimes: Murder and Robbery. The defendant later appealed, but the appellate court upheld the sentence.

According to VNE