Charges upgraded for mom who allegedly shot her sons
Bucks woman charged with first-degree murder after boys died
Charges against a Bucks County woman accused of shooting her two sons have been upgraded to first-degree murder following the death of the boys, officials said.
Trinh T. Nguyen, 38, has been in custody since May 2 when she allegedly shot 13-year-old Jeffrey Tini and 9-yearold Nelson Tini in their beds at their Upper Makefield Township home and tried to shoot a neighbor.
The boys were kept on life support at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia so their organs could be donated. They were pronounced dead Friday.
In an updated criminal complaint filed Monday, Bucks County and Upper Makefield detectives say Nguyen planned the killing, leaving a handwritten will dated April 25 that instructed the recipient of what to do with her and her sons remains.
Nguyen was arraigned Monday morning before District Judge Michael W. Petrucci on two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of attempted homicide, possession of an instrument of crime and possession of a controlled substance.
She remains incarcerated without bail at Bucks County jail.
“I have been praying for these boys and their surviving family for days,” District Attorney Matt Weintraub said in a news release. “I am so sad to hear of their passing. This defendant’s murder of two of her sons is unconscionable and horrific. We will do what needs to be done to seek justice for all of them.”
The boys attended Council Rock School District. Acting Superintendent Susan Elliott posted a note to the district Facebook page saying Jeffrey attended eighth grade at Newtown Middle School and Nelson attended third grade at Sol Feinstone Elementary School.
“We are deeply saddened to lose two of our Council Rock students and will miss them greatly,” she wrote. “This tragic event has shocked our Council Rock community. As a school community, we will continue to provide supports for students, staff, and families as we cope with this horrific event.”
According to Weintraub’s office, Upper Makefield police were dispatched around 7:05 a.m. May 2 for a report of an armed person. Gianni Melchiondo, who is the 22-year-old nephew of Nguyen’s ex-husband and lives next door to her, told police Nguyen handed him a box of photos and asked him to give the box to her ex-husband.
Melchiondo told police he turned around to face Nguyen and saw her pointing a black revolver to his face. Nguyen pulled the trigger two times, but the gun did not fire, he said.
Melchiondo wrapped Nguyen in a bear hug and disarmed her. Nguyen fled in a minivan.
Melchiondo’s mother and a responding Upper Makefield Township police officer checked the Nguyen residence, where both boys were found with gunshot wounds to their heads.
Around 11:30 a.m., police found Nguyen in her minivan parked at the United Methodist Church in Washington’s Crossing. She was removed from the minivan, taken into custody, and then taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center because she appeared to be intoxicated.
During her arraignment before Petrucci that day, Nguyen said she did not flee but claimed to have traveled to New Jersey to obtain narcotics, which she ingested in an attempt to kill herself, according to a criminal complaint. She added that she had not used drugs in the past, the complaint says.
In the minivan, detectives found .38-caliber ammunition, several empty suspected heroin packages, several full suspected heroin packages, and swabs of suspected blood, among other evidence. A note on the passenger-side dashboard read: “Please call 911! My children are Dead in their bed at 119 Timber Ridge Rd 18940.”
Detectives also served a search warrant at the Nguyen residence and found a handwritten will dated a week before the shooting that instructed the recipient what to do with her ashes and the ashes of her sons. In addition, a .38-caliber revolver was found in front of the Melchiondo residence.
The shooting happened the day before Nguyen was to be evicted from her residence, where her landlord was the sister of her ex-husband, according to the Bucks County Courier Times. The two had been locked in a lengthy dispute over alleged unpaid rent and property damage.