PA Mother Who Killed Her Kids Went To NJ To Buy Drugs Afterward: DA

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The suburban Philadelphia mother that police say fatally shot her two sons in the head traveled to New Jersey to buy drugs shortly after the killings, according to the latest briefing from authoriites on Monday.

Trinh T. Nguyen, 38, of Upper Makefield, had planned the killings for at least a week beforehand, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.

Nguyen left a handwritten will in her home dated April 25, leaving instructions for what should be done with the remains of her and her children, police said.

She shot her sons on May 2, police said. They were placed on life support and died on May 6.

“I have been praying for these boys and their surviving family for days,” District Attorney Matt Weintraub said Monday. “I am so sad to hear of their passing. This defendant’s murder of two of her sons is unconscionable and horrific."

After the shooting, Nguyen gave a box of photos to her neighbor, who was also her ex-husband's nephew, and pointed a gun at him and tried to fire, according to authorities. But the weapon did not go off.

After the nephew disarmed her, Nguyen fled in her vehicle to Washington Crossing United Methodist Church in New Jersey, police said.

At some point during her journey she purchased heroin, which she took in an attempt at suicide, the District Attorney's Office said. She later told police that she had never used drugs in the past.

She was arrested at the church later in the morning of May 2.

Inside the vehicle, authorities said a note was found:

Please call 911!

My children are dead in their bed

at Timber Ridge Rd

18940

Upgraded first degree murder charges have been filed against Nguyen after her children passed away. A preliminary hearing is forthcoming.

Related coverage:

• Murder Charges Added Against Bucks Co. Mom After Sons Die: DA
• 2 Bucks Co. Boys Die After Being Shot By Mother: Police
• Newtown Mom Shoots Her 2 Sons, Ages 9 And 13, In Bed: DA