Wife used weapon to beat deaf-mute husband to death

On the morning of May 26, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened the first instance trial of Hoang Thi Ngan (born in 1974, residing in Nam Linh commune, Nam Dan district, Nghe An) for the crime of "Murder". The victim in the case was Mr. Dinh Huu L. (born in 1972), the defendant's husband.

Defendant Hoang Thi Ngan was prosecuted for "Murder". Photo: An Quynh

"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, the couple occasionally had conflicts. When Mr. L. discovered that his wife was having an affair, the conflict in the family became even more serious.

According to the indictment, in the early morning of November 13, 2021, while the couple was sleeping, Mr. L. woke up and broke things. When Ngan saw this, she asked, and Mr. L. signaled that he had a headache. Ngan gave her husband sedatives and then went to bed.

About 30 minutes later, he heard a "thud, thud" sound outside the porch. Ngan went outside and saw Mr. L. banging his head on the porch. When he saw Ngan come out, Mr. L. chased after him. During the scuffle, Ngan used a mop to hit Mr. L. on the head.

Then, Ngan took an iron bar from the kitchen door and used it as a latch and ran out into the yard. Seeing Mr. L. fall, Ngan used the latch to hit him on the head; Mr. L. stood up and grabbed a water bottle and chased after his wife.

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 saw the metal bat repeatedly hitting her husband on the head. Then she saw Mr. L. fall to the ground. She went into the bathroom, took off her coat, and when she came back, she saw Mr. L. still moving. Ngan used the bat again to hit him until he lost consciousness.

After committing the crime, she dragged her husband to the corner of the yard, changed into new clothes, and used a towel to wipe away all the blood stains on his body and the floor.

Ngan packed up all her husband's belongings and clothes and threw them in front of the ditch to get rid of them. Because the house had a camera installed, Hoang Thi Ngan was afraid and went inside to take the iPad and phone and threw them in the field in front of the house.

After cleaning up the “crime scene”, Ngan called her two children and said: “Dad is dead, when mom screams, you and your sister will run to the neighbor’s house to call for help”. Having said that, Ngan grabbed the glass bottle and the tire pump and threw them out into the yard and screamed.

Hoang Thi Ngan turned on the lights and cried, while her two children ran to the neighbor's house to report the news. Everyone rushed over to take Mr. L. to the hospital for emergency treatment, but he was confirmed dead before that.

Through the autopsy, the victim died of a skull fracture and hemorrhage due to multiple brain injuries. At the police station, Hoang Thi Ngan also confessed to all her actions.

At the trial, when asked about the beating process, Hoang Thi Ngan calmly confessed, describing each action, leaving the attendees shocked.

The judge asked Ngan why she committed the above crime, she calmly said: "At that time, the defendant was like an animal, beating her husband for no reason."

Hoang Thi Ngan burst into tears when she saw her child. Photo: An Quynh

Hoang Thi Ngan was prosecuted by the People's Procuracy of Nghe An province and brought to court for trial for the crime of "Murder" under point n (of a hooligan nature), clause 1, article 123, Penal Code with a penalty of 12-20 years, life imprisonment or death penalty.

After considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the panel decided to sentence defendant Hoang Thi Ngan to life in prison for the crime of "Murder" and force Ms. Ngan to compensate the victim's mother for mental damage as well as provide child support for her two children.