Repaying a debt of gratitude with… a knife.

The fateful night

Ten years have passed, but the people of Tien Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district, Nghe An province) can hardly forget the desperate cries for help from Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen Van O. on that fateful night. Their desperate cries shattered the quiet of the small village. No one imagined that those cries would lead to such a family tragedy.

At approximately 9 PM on March 2, 2023, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Yen Thanh District Police received a phone call reporting a case.killingIn the area, upon receiving initial information, local officers were dispatched to the scene. The victim, a middle-aged man, was found dead, lying motionless in a pool of blood in his room. The only witness was his wife, who was also unconscious.

Upon examining the crime scene, investigators determined that the victim, Nguyen Van O. (born in 1968), died from two stab wounds. Because the stab wounds were near the heart, death occurred due to acute blood loss. The victim's family was known to be peaceful and friendly, with no conflicts with their neighbors. This horrific crime has left witnesses deeply disturbed and shocked.

Through professional investigative techniques, the investigators quickly narrowed down the suspects and employed all available methods to find the perpetrator. Just one day after the crime occurred, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Yen Thanh District Police initiated a case and arrested Le Van Luu, residing in Dien Thap, Dien Chau (Nghe An), on charges of "murder." What further shocked and surprised those involved was that the victim loved Le Van Luu like family and was even considered her prospective son-in-law.

Repaying a debt of gratitude with… two stab wounds.

Mr. Nguyen Van O. was originally a trader in Laos. Spending his days trading in a foreign land, he coincidentally met and befriended Le Van Luu during a shared delivery trip. Being from the same hometown and seeing Luu's diligence, the bond between Mr. O. and his fellow countryman grew stronger and closer.

Touched by his hardworking fellow villager, Mr. O. invited Luu to visit and stay for a meal at his private home in Tien Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district). There, Luu coincidentally met Nguyen Thi H. (born in 1995), Mr. O.'s second daughter. From then on, Luu was captivated by H.'s youthful beauty and developed feelings for her. Using the tactic of "slow and steady wins the race" and his worldly experience, Luu successfully won H.'s heart. When Mr. and Mrs. O. learned of Luu and their daughter's relationship, they both approved and secretly hoped their love would soon lead to marriage.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi P. (the victim's wife) shared: "Before Luu started dating H., my family treated him like a son. The two of them had just had their engagement ceremony, and they were planning to get married at the end of the year, but then this tragedy happened."

Reportedly, after the engagement ceremony, since they were now family, Mr. and Mrs. O. and Luu pooled their capital to plan further trading in Laos. Unexpectedly, it was from this point that Luu began to reveal his true nature. He didn't focus on honest work, but instead squandered money on debauchery and excessive drinking.

Mr. and Mrs. O.'s family repeatedly advised Luu, but Luu would use alcohol as an excuse to vandalize, curse, and even beat H. until he was bruised. The frequent incidents of Luu getting drunk and causing trouble saddened Mr. O.'s family, who had to witness the violent and aggressive nature of their future son-in-law. Furthermore, taking advantage of Mr. O.'s return to Vietnam, Luu, burdened by gambling debts, sold his father-in-law's car in Laos to pay off his debts, and continued to gamble away the rest. After returning to Laos and learning of what had happened, Mr. O. still managed to borrow money from relatives to redeem the car.

Fearing for their daughter's future if she married Luu, Mr. and Mrs. O. decided to call off the engagement, and H. officially broke up with Luu. After being rejected, Luu went to their house to apologize and make promises, but Mr. O.'s family did not accept his apology. Realizing the situation was irreparable, Luu threatened Mr. O.'s family and then quietly left the area for a while.

Just days before the crime, Luu was often seen loitering in front of Mr. O's house. However, no one expected that Luu would repay Mr. O's kindness with such fatal stab wounds.

A harsh sentence

On the morning of July 10, 2013, the Nghe An Provincial People's Court held a public trial for the murder case of Le Van Luu. Most of those in attendance were neighbors and relatives of Mr. O.'s family, all eager to witness the harsh sentence handed down to the perpetrator.

At the trial, when asked about his motive for the crime, Lu explained that after passing a wedding and seeing photos of the bride and groom hanging up, he realized he had been "canceled off" and became angry, so he thought of a way to get revenge. Knowing that Mr. O.'s house only had a front door but not a back door, he devised the revenge plan as described above.

In court, Luu claimed that his actions were provoked by Mr. O.'s family's refusal to allow the marriage. Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Thi P. testified in court that since the engagement and the setting of the wedding date, Luu had not reformed his ways and frequently got drunk. Each time he was drunk, Luu would come to the house and cause trouble, breaking things. Furthermore, H., born in 1995, was not old enough to register for marriage at that time, so the family had to postpone the wedding to avoid violating the law and to give Luu time to reflect on himself.

The trial panel determined that Luu's criminal act was particularly serious, but at trial the defendant confessed honestly and showed remorse, so the court sentenced Le Van Luu to 17 years in prison. Regarding civil matters, the court ordered Luu to compensate the victim's family 93 million VND for emotional distress, and also to provide 800,000 VND per month to the victim's youngest child and father.

The perpetrator has been brought before the court to face the harsh sentence of the law, but the pain left behind for his relatives and family is immense...