Suspect in murder of 4 relatives prosecuted

The decision to prosecute Vu Van Vuong was made by Hanoi City Police on the afternoon of January 19, after one day of arresting the suspect in Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

Initially, Vuong stated that his motive for committing the crime was "to free his family from poverty". At around 10am on January 15, in his house in Trung village, Hoang Long commune, Phu Xuyen district, he used a pestle to kill his 19-year-old daughter, 17-year-old son and 50-year-old wife. Vuong then hid the bodies of his wife and children under the bed in the bedroom, lying next to each other.

At around 1 a.m. on January 16, Vuong continued to attack his 78-year-old mother, who had been ill for a long time and was bedridden. After committing the crime, the suspect wrote a suicide note and took sleeping pills in an unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide.

On the afternoon of January 16, Vuong took a bus from Hanoi to Da Nang, then traveled to Vung Tau City. There, he hired a motorbike taxi to go to Lien Tri Pagoda to pray for his family.

At around 2 p.m. on January 17, Vuong's sister was unable to call her niece (Vuong's daughter) so she went to the house to look for her and found her old mother dead on the bed in the house. Later, the bodies of Vuong's wife and two children were discovered.

According to the police, Vuong showed signs of depression and mental instability. On the afternoon of January 19, the victim’s family completed the funeral arrangements for the four people. Many neighbors and relatives from far away came to burn incense and express their condolences to the family.