This is the horrific moment a 40-year-old Pennsylvania mother tried to shoot her ex-husband's teenage nephew shortly after she shot her two school-age sons while they slept in their beds.
Trinh Nguyen will now spend the rest of her life in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the May 2022 killing of her two sons, nine-year-old Nelson and 13-year-old Jeffrey.
Police revealed she had been planning her murders for more than a week before carrying out the shocking massacre in a sick revenge plot against her former husband.
Earlier this week, Judge Raymond F. McHugh sentenced Nguyen to two life sentences without the possibility of parole for the killing of the boys and the attempted murder of the teenager.
Newly released video footage shows Trinh Nguyen attempting to kill her teenage nephew after shooting her two sons
Suddenly her gun jams, allowing 19-year-old Gianni Melchiondo to snatch the gun away from her and save his own life
Trinh Nguyen, 40, will spend the rest of her life in prison as she serves consecutive life sentences for the killings of her two sons, Jeffrey, 13, and Nelson, 9.
Nelson, 9, left, and Jeffrey Tini, 13, right, were shot in their sleep. They died four days later
First Assistant District Attorney Jen Schorn said the crime was one of the most horrific she has ever dealt with
Minutes after the boys were shot in their beds, Nguyen could be seen outside the house trying to shoot the teenager.
Security footage shows the pair wrestling while 19-year-old Gianni Melchiondo tried to free the gun from Nguyen, who fired twice.
In the video, Nguyen can be seen trying to shoot, but the gun never fires and Melchiondo is able to disarm her.
Incredibly, two of the gun's chambers were empty when she attempted to shoot the teenager, meaning he was saved from almost certain death.
Melchiondo's mother, the aunt of the little boys Jeffrey and Nelson, testified in court: “I thank the Lord all the time that the gun misfired.”
The negotiated plea and sentence “ensure that the defendant will die within the four walls of a correctional facility,” First Assistant District Attorney Jen Schorn said after the hearing for her unimaginable actions.
“I mean, thank God for the nephew that the gun malfunctioned or she didn't do it right or whatever, and there's a video that captured her trying to shoot him.” Schorn told Law & Crime during an interview on Friday
'The [jamming of the gun] She allowed the nephew to intervene and disarm her, then tried to convince him that the gun was not loaded.
“We know for certain that Gianni would have suffered a fatal gunshot wound had he not acted, and all we know is who else she would have killed before attempting to take her own life.”
Both boys were taken to the hospital after the shooting but died four days later
Pictures of the two boys were shown in court in a specially prepared slideshow showing them together and smiling
Following the shooting on the morning of May 2, 2022, Upper Makefield Township police responded to the home after reports of an armed person.
Police officers checked Nguyen's home and found the seriously injured boys in their beds with gunshot wounds to the head.
Both boys were taken to the hospital but ultimately died four days later.
Nguyen's sons had been on life support before being pronounced dead at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
The couple had been kept alive despite doctors' dire prognosis so that their organs could be donated to those in need.
Hours after the shooting, police found Nguyen in her minivan parked outside a nearby church. She was immediately taken into custody.
Investigators found .38-caliber ammunition and packets of heroin, some of which she had consumed in a suicide attempt.
There was a note on the dashboard that said, “Please call 911!” My children are dead in their bed at 119 Timber Ridge Rd 18940'
Investigators searched the home and discovered a handwritten will dated a week before the shooting.
Nguyen shot her only two sons as they slept in the family home in affluent Upper Makefield
Nguyen acted intentionally when she killed 13-year-old Jeffrey (right) and 9-year-old Nelson (left).
There was also a .38 caliber revolver in front of the house.
Speaking to the District Attorney for Law and Crime, Schorn said the woman convinced herself that she had to kill the boys.
“She contradicted her one son and said she was afraid he would become like his father, which was completely pointless and ridiculous, while she said her other son was too naive and too good for this world, so she wanted to take his.” “To save his life to save him,” Schorn explained.
“She was facing eviction and making it seem like she was facing poverty when in reality she was doing pretty well financially after the divorce, but she just wanted to create this false narrative to justify the most horrific crime, and frankly one “The worst thing I've ever committed.”
Bucks County and Upper Makefield investigators determined that Nguyen planned the murders and left a handwritten will telling the recipient what to do with her and her son's remains.
Prosecutor Schorn said Nguyen blamed others for the problems in her life, including the threatened eviction from the Timber Ridge home where she lived with her ex-husband after a rental dispute.
Trinh Nguyen pictured with her two murdered sons and her ex-husband Ed Tini. Nguyen revealed how she had written a note a week earlier describing what she wanted to do with the children's ashes
When authorities tracked down Nguyen in the parking lot of Washington Crossing Methodist Church less than four hours after the murder, they said Nguyen appeared to be under the influence of drugs.
Church employees alerted authorities after seeing a wanted notice. Weintraub said Nguyen appeared to be under the influence of drugs at the time of her arrest
“It is clear that our evidence showed that this defendant was so evil-minded that she made these plans,” Schorn said.
“She wrote a manifesto outlining what she was going to do, and you could see in it the hatred she had for others and the people she blamed.”
The letter also informed the recipient what to do with their own remains. This confirmed the police's earlier suspicions that the mother had planned to take her own life as soon as the crime was committed.
Family members and friends who attended court earlier this week gave emotional statements describing how their lives were affected by the deaths of the two little boys, who were described as caring and fun-loving and loved by all who knew them. were loved.
Investigators searched the home and discovered a handwritten will dated a week before the shooting
The boys were shown in court in a specially prepared slideshow in which they were seen smiling together.
Prosecutor Schorn said the entire family felt great sadness after the murders.
“You just saw the ripple effect of grief. Layer upon layer from family members, from the community – it's just heartbreaking.
“They showed such strength and dignity when they appeared in court and made impact statements,” Schorn said.
“We can’t take away the pain, but at least we could bring justice for Nelson and Jeffrey and their cousin who survived.” [murder] attempt.'