Vietnam man sentenced to death for killing woman, her 2 children

The Dong Nai People’s Court opened the first-instance trial against Anh, a local resident, on Tuesday, charging him with murder and illegally using military weapons.

After considering the case and aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the court sentenced Anh to death for murder and six years in prison for illegally using military weapons. The combined sentence was death.

The court also ordered Anh to pay more than VND1.13 billion (US$43,473) in compensation to the victims and their family.

The court said Anh’s actions posed an extremely serious danger to society and violated the right to life and health as well as regulations on military weapons.

Anh’s actions were not spontaneous, the court said.

Before the incident, he had prepared a knife and, despite being stopped, returned to unlawfully enter the victims’ home and repeatedly attack people with whom he had no conflict.

The attack left three people dead, including two children. Another victim suffered injuries equivalent to 76 percent bodily impairment and was still receiving treatment at a hospital at the time of the trial.

The court said Anh’s actions had seriously affected security and social order in the locality, caused major losses to the victims’ family, and left the community deeply shocked.

“Anh’s actions were completely inhumane, and he is not capable of being educated or rehabilitated,” the court said, adding that the harshest punishment was necessary to permanently remove him from society and serve as a deterrent to others.

Earlier, the prosecutor said Anh had been fully capable of understanding and controlling his actions when he committed the crimes.

At the trial, Anh admitted the allegations and said he did not know the victims.

He said he had previously planned to kill his former girlfriend after they broke up. On one occasion, a friend drove him to his former girlfriend’s house, but he did not carry out the attack.

Anh later returned to the area and committed the killings, leaving three members of the family dead.

Anh said he had been drinking alcohol before the attack but was not drunk and remained capable of controlling his actions.

At around 2:00 am on September 3, local police received a report of the killing and immediately responded to the scene.

Officers found a 40-year-old man unconscious on the road about 15 meters from his home. He was rushed to hospital with multiple injuries and severe blood loss.

Residents told police that a man armed with a knife had barricaded himself inside the house.

After about 20 minutes of persuasion, the suspect opened the door and surrendered.

Inside, police found the homeowner’s 36-year-old wife dead with multiple injuries.

The couple’s two children were found seriously injured and unconscious. Both were taken to hospital but later died.

Anh had been in a relationship with a 17-year-old girl living near the victims’ home.

The girl had ended the relationship and cut off contact, but the suspect allegedly refused to accept the break-up and threatened to take revenge on her family.

Before the fatal attack, he allegedly rode a motorbike to the girl’s house carrying a knife and entered through a skylight after climbing onto the metal roof.

Her family discovered him and forced him to leave.

The suspect then allegedly broke into the nearby home of the victims. When the homeowner discovered the intrusion, the suspect attacked him, his wife, and their two children with a knife.