Man steals uncle's skull from grave, demands $204,000 ransom in Vietnam

Luu Thanh Nam, 37, was taken into custody on Thursday afternoon as police investigated him for violating graves and extortion.

Two days earlier, the family of Luu Thanh Hoi in the same province received a message via Zalo, a Vietnamese messaging app, from an unknown account demanding VND5 billion to return their father's remains. The sender threatened, "If you report this to the police, you will never find the remains."

Initially skeptical, as their father had been deceased for several years, Hoi's family doubted anyone would dare commit such a crime. However, upon checking the cemetery that afternoon, they discovered the grave had been disturbed, with the coffin showing signs of tampering.

Nam was later identified as the perpetrator.

At the police station, he admitted to the crime, citing desperation due to debt.

On the night of Sept. 9, Nam used a shovel and other tools to dig up Hoi’s father’s grave. Upon reaching the coffin lid, he made a hole approximately 20 square centimeters in size, removed the skull and several bones, and hid them at a nearby trash dump.

The following morning, Nam used a burner phone to demand the ransom from Hoi's wife. Local authorities revealed that Nam is Hoi’s cousin and referred to the deceased as his uncle. The two families lived close to each other.

After inspecting the scene, police returned the remains to the family for reburial according to tradition.