Man jailed for killing woman and hiding corpse for 13 years

By Le Tan   June 18, 2024 | 05:00 am PT
Man jailed for killing woman and hiding corpse for 13 years
Bui Trong Thanh at a court in Hai Phong City, June 17, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Le Tan
A man in Vietnam's northern city of Hai Phong has received a prison term of 18 years for killing a local woman and hiding her body in an abandoned water tank for 13 years.

As announced at a court in Hai Phong on Monday, Bui Trong Thanh, 31, received 17 years behind bars for "murder" and four years for "appropriation of property."

As Thanh was underage when he committed the crime, the total prison term he got was 18 years.

The woman's body was found accidentally on Dec. 6, 2022.

Local resident Nguyen Van Quy, Thanh's stepfather, was looking for his dog when he checked the water tank in his backyard and discovered the rotted corpse.

The body exhibited evidence of having met a violent end, and police opened a criminal investigation into the death.

It was identified later that the corpse belonged to a woman name Nguyen Thi Thu Thanh, who was 22 when she went missing while riding her motorbike to deliver a gas cylinder on Dec. 3, 2010.

She did not return home that night.

Besides her motorbike, which was found 500 meters from her home, the family had no more clues.

But they still held on to the hope that she would show up one day. All hope faded when her remains were found in the tank, 300 meters from the deceased's house. Thanh was married with a two-year-old son when she died.

The victim's family demands compensation of VND500 million (US$19,700) for emotional distress, VND170 million for funeral expenses, and a monthly allowance of VND2 million for the victim's son until he turns 18.

The defendant's family has only compensated VND30 million for funeral expenses so far, the court heard.

Nguyen Van Hien, deputy head of Hai Phong’s Criminal Police Office, said last year that a special investigation was planned due to the complexity of the case.

He said the area where Thanh went missing is a rock excavation hotspot.

After the DNA test confirmed the corpse to be hers, police categorized suspects into four groups: miners, construction workers, drug addicts, and people with criminal records.

They initially identified many potential suspects, but after extensive investigation, they narrowed it down to four, including Bui Trong Thanh, who became the prime suspect.

Thanh, then a teenager with a troubled past, confessed to the crime after repeated questioning.

As a teenager, after his parents' divorce, he was neglected, leading him to adopt a dissipated lifestyle, fall into debt, and use drugs.

At 17, he decided to commit a robbery for money, targeting Thu Thanh for wearing gold jewelry all the time. On Dec. 9, 2010, he asked her to deliver a gas cylinder to the house of his mother and stepfather.

At that time, he was all alone as both adults were in jail for illegal rock mining and explosives production.

Bui Trong Thanh recreates a crime scene in which he murdered a woman in Hai Phong City, Dec. 22, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Le Tan

Bui Trong Thanh recreates a crime scene in which he murdered a woman in Hai Phong City, Dec. 22, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Le Tan

He admitted to killing the woman, Thu Thanh, in 2010 to rob her of her gold jewelry. He suffocated her, hid her body in the water tank, and covered his tracks.

He said he had lived in torment for 13 years but feared turning himself in. Despite his crime, he maintained a good reputation to atone for his actions.

Hai Phong police said Vietnam has had five cases in which the victims’ bodies were found a long time after they went missing, but this is the only one to have been solved successfully so far.

 
 
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