Pennsylvania mother sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to killing her 2 sons

UPPER MAKEFIELD, Pa. – A Bucks County mother will spend the rest of her life in prison after pleading guilty to murdering her two sons on Wednesday. 

40-year-old Trinh T. Nguyen shot and killed her 9-year-old son Nelson and 13-year-old son Jeffrey while they were sleeping in bed in Upper Makefield Township May 2022.

Officials say she also attempted to shoot a neighbor when her gun jammed. 

The boys passed away days later.

Jeffrey (left) and Nelson Tini (right) have died after being on life support for several days after being shot in the head by their mother, Trinh T. Nguyen on May 2, 2022.

Nguyen pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and related charges. The judge sentenced her to two life terms without the possibility of parole for the murder of the boys and a maximum sentence of ten to 20 years for the attempted murder of the neighbor, who was a cousin to Jeffrey and Nelson. 

Following the hearing, First Assistant District Attorney Jen Schorn said the negotiated plea and sentence “will ensure that the defendant will die within the four walls of a correctional facility.” 

Officers from the Upper Makefield Police Department were called to Timber Ridge Road around 7 a.m. the day of the incident for reports of an armed person. Police were told by a neighbor that Nguyen allegedly tried to shoot him twice in the face after she handed him a box of photos to give to her ex-husband whom he worked with. 

The neighbor wrapped Nguyen in a bear hug and disarmed her, but she fled the neighborhood in a white Toyota Sienna minivan, police said. 

Officers and the mother of the neighbor entered Nguyen’s home and found her two boys gravely shot in the head. 

At approximately 11:30 a.m., officials located her inside her minivan parked at the United Methodist Church in Washington’s Crossing. She was removed from the vehicle and taken into custody. The investigation found that after the shooting, she fled to New Jersey to obtain narcotics, which she ingested to try and kill herself.

The two young victims were students in the Council Rock School District, according to a release from the leadership. 

Bucks County and Upper Makefield Detectives found that Nguyen planned the murders at least a week earlier, leaving a handwritten will that instructed the recipient of what to do with her and her son’s remains. In her writings, they say Nguyen blamed others for the problems in her life, which included the imminent eviction from the Timber Ridge home where she was living. The will was signed, “TRINH NGUYEN.”

“It’s clear our evidence showed that this defendant had that wickedness of disposition that she had made these plans,” Schorn said. “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.”

During Wednesday’s hearing, Schorn praised the incredible work of investigators and the bravery of Melchiondo whose actions likely saved others from Nguyen’s murderous rampage. “I can’t emphasize enough the outstanding work done by this team that resulted in our ability to convict this defendant,” Schorn said.