Vietnamese man found guilty in 1983 Alhambra murder

A Vietnamese national who stabbed an Alhambra woman to death in 1983 and then fled to Vietnam was found guilty today of murder and robbery charges.

An Alhambra Superior Court jury convicted Ninh Kim Nguyen, 54, of the 1983 attack on 38-year-old Khuyen Thi Bui, who was stabbed several times and robbed of jewelry.

At the time of the killing, Nguyen was trying to defraud the victim in a scheme involving diamonds, according to prosecutors.

Bui\'s then-16-year-old son found her dead in her North Fifth Street apartment on August 5, 1983, with a kitchen knife stuck in her throat. He testified at Nguyen\'s trial that some of his mother\'s jewelry was missing. Investigators had said one of Nguyen\'s former girlfriends was found in possession of Bui\'s stolen jewelry.

A warrant was issued for Nguyen in 1983, charging him with one count each of murder and robbery.

In 1993, the FBI obtained a federal warrant charging the fugitive with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

He was escorted back to the U.S. by F.B.I. agents in October 2008 when Vietnamese officials agreed to release him into the custody of U.S. authorities. He had been serving a 14-year sentence for a fraud conviction in that country. .

Sentencing is set for Dec. 3.