A 48-year-old Garden Grove man who attacked his wife with a meat cleaver in front of their children after learning she had been having an affair was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Thang Van Nguyen was convicted Nov. 9 of attempted voluntary manslaughter, mayhem and corporal injury on his spouse. Jurors also found true sentencing enhancements for causing great bodily injury and the personal use of a deadly weapon.
Nguyen went to a local fire station to turn himself in for "murdering" his wife after he attacked her on Jan. 19, 2016, and firefighters notified police. Authorities went to the Nguyen home and found the victim, 44- year-old Huong Nguyen, who was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.
"She was comatose for the better part of two months," said Deputy District Attorney Mark Geller, who argued for an attempted murder conviction. The defendant knew his wife had been having an affair for about seven months, but the issue bubbled up that morning and the two began quarreling, Geller said.
Nguyen went to the kitchen to get a meat cleaver and returned to their bedroom, where they slept in the same bed that night, and struck her in the head with the weapon, the prosecutor said.
Their 8-year-old son and his teenage brother saw the conflict, Geller said.
The wife testified for the defense in the trial, he said. "She survived and she was standing by her man," the prosecutor said.
