Nguyen Thi Hong Bich, 36, was arrested on July 5 after Dong Nai Police launched an investigation into the deaths of five members of her family, with one other found suffering from cyanide poisoning.
According to police, an 18-year-old man was hospitalised in critical condition on June 26. Doctors said that he suffered from cyanide poisoning.
The man has recovered after receiving treatment. Initial investigation by the police showed that the young man was poisoned by cyanide by his aunt Bich while living in the same house.
Reports from the police said that five other members of Bich's family had died of the same problems of heart arrhythmia between October 2023 and June 2024. The victims were Bich's father, Nguyen Van Hai, her husband, her two nephews, and her son.
However, it was not until her 18-year-old nephew was hospitalised and then found out to have been poisoned that his uncle called the police to look into the case.
The family did not inform about the sudden death of five other members just a short time earlier.
At the police station, Bich admitted that she had bought cyanide to poison her 18-year-old nephew and three other family members, including her 39-year-old husband and two other nephews aged seven and 12, due to family conflicts.
"I decided to kill my husband because he was gambling and got drunk frequently," Bich told the police. "I bought some cyanide and put it into some capsules and gave it to my husband in October 2023 when he was taking some medicine. He was then hospitalised and died four days later due to heart arrhythmia. Several months later, I also used cyanide to poison my two nephews, who were sons of my sister and brother, after having some arguments with them about money. They also died shortly after due to heart arrhythmia."
Police are still investigating the death of Bich's 14-year-old son and her 75-year-old father, who also died with the same heart arrhythmia symptoms.
"Bich has received VND800 million in insurance payment following the death of her husband and son," the police said. "She has spent it all on paying debts. And after she was arrested, more people have come to her house to collect debts."
According to some neighbours, Bich, her husband, and their two children lived in the same house as his brother's family and their father on Hung Vuong Street, Nhon Trach District. They ran a small restaurant at their home.
Some neighbours and relatives said that they had thought that Bich's family members had died due to some spiritual issues.
"Bich's brother has started to change some designs of the house with a hope to prevent more deaths happening to their family, but Bich opposed that," a neighbour said.
Police are further investigating the case.