Upper Makefield Mom Pleads Guilty To Murdering Her Sons

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Trinh Nguyen, charged in the May 2022 murders of her sons in Upper Makefield, will spend the rest of her life in prison after pleading guilty on Wednesday to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Nguyen shot both of her sons, 9-year-old Nelson Tini and 13-year-old Jeffrey Tini, in their beds on May 2, 2022, and attempted to shoot a neighbor at 119 Timber Ridge Road, Upper Makefield. The boys, both students in the Council Rock School District, passed away days later.

Nguyen entered her pleas as part of a negotiated agreement in which the Bucks County District Attorney's office agreed not to proceed with a death penalty case against her.

Following her guilty pleas and as part of the agreement, the Hon. Raymond F. McHugh sentenced Nguyen to state prison for two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. He also sentenced her to no less than 10 and no more than 20 years on the attempted murder charge, also to be served consecutively.

"This is a crime I don't think anyone can understand ... it shows and displays a hardening of the heart and a wickedness of disposition," said Judge McHugh.

The negotiated plea and sentence “will ensure that the defendant will die within the four walls
of a correctional facility” for her unfathomable actions, First Assistant District Attorney Jen Schorn said following the hearing.

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

After arriving on the scene, Gianni Melchiondo, the 22-year-old nephew of her ex-husband and her neighbor, told police that Nguyen had 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 find her.

At the scene, both boys were found with gunshot wounds to their heads, police said. The boys were transported to the hospital with an Upper Makefield Detective, who is now a detective with the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, carrying one of them out in his arms.

The boys succumbed to their injuries on May 6, 2022.

Bucks County Detectives, Upper Makefield Township Police, Lower Makefield Township 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 Nguyen inside her minivan parked at the United Methodist Church in Washington’s Crossing. She was removed from the minivan and taken into custody.

The investigation found that after the shooting, she fled to New Jersey to obtain narcotics, which she ingested to try and kill herself.

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”

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 in 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.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Schorn praised the incredible work of investigators and the bravery of Melchiondo whose actions likely saved others from Nguyen’s murderous rampage.

“I can’t emphasize enough the outstanding work done by this team that resulted in our ability to convict this defendant,” Schorn said.