Bucks County mother Trinh Nguyen sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to killing 2 sons
UPPER MAKEFIELD, Pa. (CBS) -- A Bucks County mother was sentenced to life in prison after she pleaded guilty to killing her two sons in May 2022.
Trinh Nguyen, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder on Wednesday, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said. She was sentenced to two life terms without the possibility of parole and a maximum sentence of 10-20 years for the attempted murder of a neighbor.
Nguyen was charged in the shooting deaths of her sons, ages 9 and 13, in their Upper Makefield Township home in May 2022. She also attempted to shoot her 22-year-old neighbor, who was the cousin of her sons, the DA's office said.
The DA's office said Nguyen planned the murders at least one week earlier and left a handwritten note that "instructed the recipient of what to do with her and her son's remains."
"It's clear our evidence showed that this defendant had that wickedness of disposition that she had made these plans," First Assistant District Attorney Jen Schorn said in a statement. "She wrote a manifesto laying out what she was going to do, and you could see throughout the hate she had for others and the people she blamed."
Upper Makefield police were called to the 100 block of Timber Ridge Road just after 7 a.m. on May 2, 2022.
Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub told CBS Philadelphia in May 2022 that the neighbor claimed Nguyen handed him a box of photos and asked him to give it to her ex-husband. When the neighbor turned to face Nguyen, he saw her point a gun at his face. She pulled the trigger twice but the gun did not fire, Weintraub said.
The neighbor was able to disarm Nguyen before she fled.
Police found the two children in their beds with gunshot wounds. They were rushed to the hospital and died later that week after donating their organs.
"I can't speak for anyone else, but I have two kids. It can't hit any closer to home than this," Weintraub said in May 2022.
After she fled the scene of the shooting in a white minivan, the DA's office said she traveled to New Jersey to obtain narcotics.
The DA's office said they found .38-caliber ammunition, several empty heroin packages, suspected blood and other evidence after bringing Nguyen into custody.
The investigation by authorities also revealed that Nguyen was being evicted from her residence and given notice to vacate by May 3, 2022 - one day before killing both her sons.
"I can't emphasize enough the outstanding work done by this team that resulted in our ability to convict this defendant," Schorn said in a statement.