Credit: Upper Makefield police
The Upper Makefield Township woman accused of killing her two sons was due in a courtroom Thursday, but instead the case has been forwarded for trial.
Trinh T. Nguyen, 39, was set to come before District Judge Mick Petrucci Thursday morning for a preliminary hearing, but the hearing was waived and the charges moved forward toward.
A preliminary hearing is where prosecutors present a basic case against a defendant using evidence and a district judge decides if the charges move forward to the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.
According to court papers, Nguyen, who is represented by the Bucks County Public Defender’s Office, is set to have a formal arraignment next month at the Justice Center.
Nguyen is facing two first degree murder charges and single charges of attempted homicide, possession of an instrument of crime with intent, and possession of a controlled substance. She has been in the court prison since last May without bail due to the murder charges.
Nguyen is accused of shooting her sons – Nelson Tini, 9, and Jeffrey Tini, 13 – inside the family home on Timber Ridge Road on May 2, 2022. The sons were taken to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and later died.
Credit: Submitted
Court records reviewed by NewtownPANow.com indicated Nguyen’s public defender had attempted to extend her stay in a state psychiatric hospital in Montgomery County. The district attorney’s office opposed the petition to keep Nguyen at the facility.
Earlier this week, Deborah Weinman, Nguyen’s public defender, withdrew the petition ahead of court dates.
Nguyen was found to be incompetent to stand trial earlier this year by a psychologist, according to court papers.
Just past 7 a.m. on May 2, 2022, Upper Makefield Township officers were dispatched to Timber Ridge Road for a report of an armed subject.
Nguyen allegedly pointed a black revolver at the 22-year-old nephew of her ex-husband and her neighbor. She was reported to have pulled the trigger twice, but the gun did not go off.
Authorities said the 22-year-old man wrapped her in a bear hug and eventually disarmed her. After disarming her, the young man cleared the firearm, observing that there were multiple rounds inside.
Nguyen fled in a white Toyota Sienna minivan.
Nguyen’s sons were found with gunshot wounds to their heads by the 22-year-old man’s mother and a responding officer, police said.
The boys were rushed to St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown Township and then the Philadelphia-based children’s hospital.
A large manhunt was launched for Nguyen, and she was located hours later and taken into custody at the United Methodist Church in Washington’s Crossing.
Credit: NewtownPANow.com
During her preliminarily arraignment, Nguyen claimed to have traveled to New Jersey to obtain drugs and ingest them in an attempt to kill herself.
A search of her minivan yielded ammunition, several empty suspected heroin packages, several full suspected heroin packages, and a note stating her children were dead.
Nguyen was in the process of being evicted from her home and was to vacate by Tuesday, May 3, 2022.
