Trinh Nguyen: Pennsylvania woman gets life in prison after admitting to killing her sons while they slept
BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA: A Pennsylvania woman who confessed to fatally shooting her two sons while they slept in May last year, just a week after writing instructions in a 'handwritten will' on how to handle her children's ashes, was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday, December 20.
Trinh T Nguyen, now 40, has always been the prime suspect behind the murders of nine-year-old Nelson Tini and 13-year-old Jeffrey Tini at their Upper Makefield Township home. She was also caught on video pointing a gun at her ex-husband’s nephew, neighbor Gianni Melchiondo, a cousin of the victims.
What did the criminal complaint state?
According to the criminal complaint, Melchiondo wrapped Nguyen in a 'bear hug' and grabbed a 'black revolver' she had pointed at his face that morning. Ngyuen “pulled the trigger two times, but the gun did not fire,” documents said, as per CBS News.
Trinh Nguyen fled the scene after the murder attempt
Nguyen fled the scene from there in a minivan to get heroin in New Jersey. When authorities found her, they saw she had left a note in her vehicle that said, "Please call 911. My children are dead in their bed at 119 Timber Ridge Rd 18940.” The investigator soon concluded that the woman planned to take her own life, saying a 'handwritten will' dated April 25, 2022, was the damning proof.
What charges does Trinh Nguyen face?
The will, which was signed with Nguyen's name, included instructions on handling the ashes of her sons she was yet to murder. However, the killer has now pleaded guilty to two first-degree murder counts and one attempted murder count, resulting in Common Pleas Judge Raymond F McHugh sentencing her to life in prison without parole twice over, plus 10 to 20 years, with each sentence to run consecutively, 6abc reports.
First Assistant District Attorney Jen Schorn of the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said Nguyen 'wrote a manifesto' that gave away her 'simmering rage' and violent plans.
“It’s clear our evidence showed that this defendant had that wickedness of disposition that she had made these plans,” said the prosecutor, adding “She wrote a manifesto laying out what she was going to do, and you could see throughout the hate she had for others and the people she blamed.”
Trinh Nguyen's sons loved playing baseball
The obituary for the young victims detailed that they both loved baseball. “Jeffrey was an awesome swimmer, winning hundreds of medals and was also skilled in MMA. Nelson loved playing Baseball, was an amazing skier, had a passion for sneakers, and most of all just talking and playing with his friends,” the obituary said. “Both these boys were taken from us too soon and will truly be missed by all who came to know them," it added.
Prosecutors said that they showed photos of the “always together and smiling” brothers in court, and that a number of those happy memories were spent alongside their baseball teammates.
