Woman tests cyanide on cat before using it on lover for betrayal

Tran Nguyen Thu Trang, 39, admitted to killing her 38-year-old lover in HCMC amid relationship disputes. She then staged the murder as a car accident by driving the body to Lam Dong and pushing the vehicle off a cliff on Oct. 21.

According to Lam Dong police, Trang was enraged after discovering her lover's involvement with another woman. She bought cyanide pills and tested the poison on a cat, which died within minutes.

She then used it on her lover as the couple traveled from Dong Thap in the Mekong Delta to HCMC by car on Oct. 20. During a stop to buy drinks, Trang laced her lover's drink with the cyanide she brought along. After consuming the drink, the victim complained of fatigue and asked Trang to drive. He later died in the car, police said.

Trang then drove the victim’s body to an apartment in HCMC’s District 7. The next day, she transported the body to Lam Dong, reportedly searching for a way to dispose of it. When she reached the Bao Loc Pass area, she scouted the location before plunging the car off a cliff in Dai Lao Commune.

Later that day, Lam Dong police received a report of a traffic accident and dispatched several officers to the scene. Trang claimed she and the victim were en route to Da Lat when the accident occurred. She said she escaped by opening the car door after the fall.

However, investigators found evidence suggesting the victim had died before the crash. Following forensic examinations and days of questioning, Trang confessed to the murder.