Vu Van Vuong is arrested while staying at a pagoda in the southern city of Vung Tau on January 18, 2025. Photo by Cong an nhan dan.
Vu Van Vuong, 52, was arrested while staying at a pagoda in the southern city of Vung Tau on January 18, 2025.
At the police station, Vuong said that he killed his family members to help them escape poverty.
According to the man, he killed his 19-year-old daughter using a pestle at around 10 am on January 15 and hid her body under her bed. At noon, when his 17-year-old son returned home, Vuong killed him and pushed his body next to the daughter. And Vuong's 50-year-old wife was also killed the same way when returning home at 11 pm that day.
The man continued to kill his 78-year-old mother who has been bed-ridden for years at 1 am on January 16. He then tried to kill himself with some sleeping pills but failed.
On the afternoon of January 16, he took a bus to the central city of Danang and then to Vung Tau where he went to a pagoda to attend a requiem for his mother, wife, and two children.
People gather around the house when they heard four bodies were found. Photo by Dantri.
According to the Hanoi Police Department, Vuong has mental problems and symptoms of depression. He tested negative for drugs.
Earlier on January 17, Vuong's sister came to his house and found the mother dead on her bed. Three additional bodies were discovered later that day, hidden under a bed in the house.
Neighbours reported that the family had been unusually silent for about two days before the discovery. His wife, a construction worker, had not been seen or contacted by her coworkers since January 16.
"I saw his wife and children watering vegetables on January 15, but I haven't seen them since," said a neighbour.
Vuong, who is known to be quiet and timid, was not present at the house when the four bodies were found. He has two daughters and a son.