Bucks County Mom Accused Of Killing Her Two Children Headed To Trial

NEWTOWN, PA — An Upper Makefield mom accused of killing her two sons has waived her right to a preliminary hearing before District Judge Michael Petrucci. She had been scheduled to appear before the judge on Thursday after numerous postponements.

Trinh Nguyen, who has been incarcerated at the Bucks County Correctional Facility since her arrest in May 2022, will be formally arraigned on June 9 at the Bucks County Justice Center in Doylestown.

Nguyen is charged with two counts of murder in the first degree and one count each of attempted homicide, possession of an instrument of crime and possession of a controlled substance in the shooting death of her two sons, 9-year-old Nelson Tini and 13-year-old Jeffrey Tini, at her Timber Ridge home on May 2, 2022.

The boys, both students in the Council Rock School District, died days later at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

In a criminal complaint, Bucks County and Upper Makefield Township detectives say Nguyen planned the killing at least a week earlier, leaving a handwritten will dated April 25, 2022, that instructed the recipient of what to do with her and her sons remains.

On May 2, 2022, at 7:05 p.m., Upper Makefield Police were dispatched to the Timber Ridge Road residence for a report of an armed subject.

After arriving on scene, Gianni Melchiondo, the 22-year-old nephew of her ex-husband and her neighbor, told police that Nguyen handed him a box of photos and asked him to give the box to her ex-husband.

According to the criminal complaint, when Melchiondo turned around to face Nguyen, he saw her pointing a black revolver at his face. Nguyen pulled the trigger two times, but the gun did not fire, he told police. He then engaged Nguyen, wrapped her in a bear hug and eventually disarmed her.

After disarming her, Melchiondo cleared the firearm, observing that there were multiple rounds inside, according to the criminal complaint.

Nguyen fled the area in a white Toyota Sienna minivan and a "Be On the Lookout" alert was issued by police to locate her.

At the scene, both boys were found with gunshot wounds to their heads. They were transported by police and EMS personnel to St. Mary Medical Center and then to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Bucks County Detectives, Upper Makefield Police, Lower Makefield Police, Newtown Township Police, Newtown Borough Police and Central Bucks Crime Scene Unit were all involved in the investigation to locate Nguyen and secure the scene.

At approximately 11:30 a.m., law enforcement located her inside her minivan parked at the United Methodist Church in Washington Crossing. She was removed from the minivan, taken into custody, and then transported to St. Mary Medical Center due to the indication that she was under the influence.

During her arraignment later that day before Magisterial District Judge Michael Petrucci, Nguyen said she did not flee. She claimed to have traveled to New Jersey to obtain narcotics, which she ingested in an attempt to kill herself, according to the criminal complaint. She added that she had not used drugs in the past, the complaint says.

A search warrant was executed on the minivan, and detectives located .38-caliber ammunition, several empty suspected heroin packages, several full suspected heroin packages, and swabs of suspected blood, among other evidence. A note was located on the passenger-side dashboard and seized.

The note read, “Please call 911! My children are Dead in their bed at 119 Timber Ridge Rd 18940.”

According to the criminal complaint, detectives also served a search warrant at the Nguyen residence, locating and seizing a handwritten will dated April 25, 2022 – a week before the shooting – that instructed the recipient on what to do with her ashes and the ashes of her sons. The will was signed, “TRINH NGUYEN.”

In addition, a .38-caliber Ruger revolver was located from the front of the Melchiondo residence.

During the investigation, detectives learned that Nguyen was being evicted from her residence and was given notice to vacate by Tuesday, May 3, 2022.