On 3/8, Ho Chi Minh City police investigated Thanh for murder. The victim was a 23-year-old woman.

Police cordoned off the area and questioned several people in the alley to investigate the body found in the suitcase. Photo: Nhat Vy

Police cordoned off the area and questioned several people in the alley to investigate the body found in the suitcase. Photo: Nhat Vy

According to the initial investigation, Thanh, who is deaf-mute from birth, lived alone in an alley on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street, Thanh My Tay Ward (former Binh Thanh District). He knew and was in a relationship with the 23-year-old woman, who was also deaf-mute and from the Mekong Delta region.

At noon on 22/7, the woman visited Thanh's house, and an argument ensued. Thanh attacked her with a knife, resulting in her death. After the incident, he hid her body in his house and ordered a large suitcase online.

In the early morning of 25/7, Thanh placed his girlfriend's body in the suitcase and left it in a dead-end alley a few dozen meters from his house before fleeing. Residents in the area later detected a foul odor, investigated, and notified the police.

Ho Chi Minh City police sealed off the scene for examination, identified Thanh as the perpetrator, and apprehended him while he was hiding in Dong Nai Province.

Local residents said Thanh's family had emigrated, and he remained in Vietnam because he did not meet the emigration requirements. The investigative agency is clarifying the roles of those involved in the case.

Nhat Vy