Life sentence for man who killed lover for being rejected

Son had been married before, but because they could not have children, they went their separate ways. After a while, Son found joy in life when Mrs. C. agreed to accept their love.

After a period of time together, Mrs. C. vowed to "love her forever" and promised that on June 9, 2017, she would let Son live with her. After that time, when Son mentioned living together again, Mrs. C. said it was just a joke. After that, this woman repeatedly rejected Son's feelings.

Defendant Nguyen Huu Son at trial. Photo: Nhu Binh

On the evening of July 2, 2017, Son went to Mrs. C's house and continued to talk about moving in together. "Please don't leave me, I'm going to die," Son begged his lover, but Mrs. C. said Son was "nagging" and chased her away. Son said he would hate her if she chased him away, but Mrs. C. replied, "If I hate her, I hate her" and banned her lover from the house from tomorrow.

Hearing his lover say that, thinking that in the past, Mrs. C. had deceived him and had feelings for someone else, when he saw the knife at the bedside, Nguyen Huu Son picked it up and slashed Mrs. C's head, face, and body many times.

After committing the crime, Son turned himself in to Tan Ky District Police. In the first instance trial held on July 20, Nghe An Provincial People's Court sentenced Nguyen Huu Son to life in prison.

Nguyen Huu Son has filed an appeal for a reduced sentence. The legal representative for Ms. C. also filed a petition to reduce Son's sentence to 18 years in prison.

The appellate court determined that the defendant Son’s actions were particularly dangerous, of a hooligan nature, committed the crime to the end, took the life of Mrs. C, and caused public panic... The sentence imposed by the first instance court was appropriate to the nature and extent of the defendant’s crime. Therefore, the appellate court rejected the appeal of the defendant, the legal representative of the victim, and upheld the life sentence for Nguyen Huu Son.