The Murder of Nguyễn Phương Linh

Linh goes to the Trung Yên apartment

Nguyễn Phương Linh was a former girlfriend of Nguyễn Đức Nghĩa. Court reporting placed the killing in May 2010 at an apartment in the Trung Yên area of Hanoi where Nghĩa was staying.

At the appellate hearing, the court specifically rejected a claim that the pair had resumed a romantic relationship. The court record reported by VnExpress said Linh had gone to meet Nghĩa at the apartment in connection with buying acne medicine.

The investigation

Police identified Nghĩa as the principal suspect after Linh was killed. Investigators also examined his efforts to conceal the crime and the taking of Linh's property.

The criminal case ultimately charged Nghĩa with murder and robbery. A second defendant, Hoàng Thị Yến, was prosecuted separately for failing to report the crime. The court did not treat her as a co-author of the homicide.

First-instance verdict

On July 14, 2010, the Hanoi court convicted Nguyễn Đức Nghĩa of murder and robbery. It imposed the death penalty for murder and a six-year term for robbery, with the combined sentence remaining death.

The court also ordered compensation to Linh's family. Hoàng Thị Yến received a 15-month suspended sentence for failing to report the crime.

Appeal

Nghĩa appealed the legal characterization and sentence. On November 11, 2010, the appellate court of the Supreme People's Court rejected the appeal and upheld the death sentence.

After the appellate judgment, Nghĩa sought clemency from the President. The clemency request was rejected in January 2012.

Execution and status

The death sentence was carried out in Hanoi on July 22, 2014. Contemporary Vietnamese reporting states that Nghĩa was executed by lethal injection.

The case is classified as Solved / Adjudicated: Nghĩa's murder-and-robbery conviction survived appeal, the clemency request was rejected and the sentence was later carried out.