A woman in Vietnam has been given the death sentence for using poison to kill three of her family members, including two young children. She also tried to poison a fourth person.
Nguyen Thi Hong Bich was found guilty of murder and of having, moving, and using dangerous poisons. The court said she will be put to death for the murder and will also spend 15 years in prison for the poison charges. Because of the murder conviction, she will be put to death.
Prosecutors said that Bich planned these acts carefully and was very cruel. They said she used cyanide, a deadly poison, on her family members over almost two years.
Bich said she thought about buying cyanide because she wanted to end her own life. She told people she needed the cyanide to clean gold.
The first person she poisoned was her husband, Nguyen Thoai Thanh The. She put cyanide in a pill he took for stomach problems in January 2023. He died about 10 months later. At first, no one thought anything was suspicious about his death.
During questioning, Bich said she had bought life insurance for her husband and children years ago. She received money after her husband died. However, investigators said they didn’t find proof that cyanide caused other deaths in the family.
The case then involved children in the family because of arguments and money problems. Bich said she poisoned her niece and nephews because she was angry with her brothers and sisters, not because she disliked the children.
In January 2024, Bich put cyanide in a drink and gave it to a young relative, who died. In May 2024, she poisoned another young relative by putting cyanide in his water bottle. He later died in the hospital.
In June 2024, Bich poisoned a teenager who survived. Doctors found cyanide in his stomach and told the family.
This failed poisoning attempt revealed all of Bich’s crimes. The court said the teenager only survived by luck, not because Bich changed her mind.
In her final words, Bich cried and asked her family for forgiveness.
