Police arrest suspect behind the murder of family of 5 in Saigon

By Quoc Thang   February 16, 2018 | 04:40 am PT
The suspect is an 18-year-old worker at the family's welding shop.

Ho Chi Minh City police on Friday arrested a man suspected of murdering a family of five in Binh Tan District.

Nguyen Huu Tinh, 18, allegedly murdered Mai Xuan Chinh, 46, as well as Chinh's wife and their three children, aged 6 to 13, on Monday.

"The suspect is a worker at Chinh's welding shop. He was arrested while hiding in Long An Province and is being transferred back here. We have found evidence pointing to him being the culprit," Ho Chi Minh City police said.

Nguyen Huu Tinh captured in Long An. Photo courtesy of the police.

Nguyen Huu Tinh captured in Long An. Photo courtesy of the police.

According to the police, Tinh has only been working at Chinh's shop for less than two months. He attended the family's year-end party on Monday evening together with the other workers, but while his coworkers returned home for the Lunar New Year after the party, Tinh stayed behind at the family's house. That night, he allegedly murdered Chinh's entire family with knives.

Tinh has confessed to the murders, claiming Chinh's wife had often scolded him and he wanted to steal from them, the police said. Following the murders, Tinh allegedly took some of the victims' belongings with him before going into hiding.

Police discovered the murders on Thursday afternoon after the family's neighbors reported noticing the smell of dead bodies coming from their house. Breaking into the house, police discovered the body of Chinh's wife near the front door while Chinh and his three children were found dead in their bedrooms.

The family's shepherd dog however was alive and strongly reacted to any officer attempting to enter the house, forcing police to have it tranquilized before they could search the house.

According to the neighbors, the family was well-off and ran a welding shop at home. However no one from the family had been seen or answered phone calls since they closed the shop on Monday.

 
 
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