An Upper Macfield woman who police said shot her two sons in their sleep last week, now charged with first-degree murder, after the boys died of their injuries late last week.
Trine Nguyen was found with drugs, ammunition and a warrant in her car when police arrested her hours after the shooting, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.
“Please call 911! My children died in their bed at 119 Timber Ridge Rd 18940,” the note was found in her pickup truck, according to police.
On Monday, Nguyen, 38, was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder, two felonies, as well as misdemeanor possession of a crime instrument and drug possession. Nguyen was initially charged with attempted murder.
Township police and county investigators said Nguyen shot her two sons, 13-year-old Jeffrey and 9-year-old Nelson Tenney, at their Timber Ridge home on the morning of May 2. They were in their family. Attorney General Matt Weintraub told reporters later that day that the boys were not expected to survive their injuries, and that they were being kept on life support until their organs could be donated.
The boys died at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia on Friday. Jeffrey, who goes by the nickname “JT,” was in the eighth grade at Newtown Middle School. Nelson was in the third grade at Sol Finestone Elementary School.
Jeffrey, Nelson Dies From Their Wounds:The CR District announces that the brothers who were killed in the Upper Makefield House have died
Nguyen faced eviction:Macfield’s senior mom who police say shot her two sons, 9 and 13, were facing eviction on Tuesday
For subscribers:Slain Newtown Township dentist remembered he was “always full of joy, stories and laughter”
Nguyen has also been charged with attempted murder for allegedly attempting to shoot her ex-husband’s nephew, Gianni Melchondo, 22, who lived in the other part of the double house. She handed him a box of pictures to give to her ex-husband, then pulled the trigger on her pistol twice; Authorities said the gun did not fire.
Police said Melcuondo managed to get the gun away from her and she fled the scene. It was later found in the parking lot of a nearby church. Police said investigators found Nguyen’s handwritten will, dated April 25, which included instructions on what to do with the boys’ ashes.
In the newly filed criminal complaint, police said Nguyen admitted to driving to New Jersey to buy heroin to kill herself. Authorities said they had never bought drugs before.
Police said that when she was arrested at the United Methodist Church in Washington, she appeared to be under the influence of an “unidentified substance” and was in an altered state of consciousness. Court documents claimed that bags of suspected heroin, empty packets of heroin, blood swabs and ammunition were found in her car.
Authorities have not released a motive for the accident, but Nguyen and her sons were facing eviction the day after the accident. She was facing eviction for failing to pay about $11,000 in rent to the homeowner, her ex-sister-in-law, Corinna Tiny Melchiondo.
Her ex-husband, Ed Tenney, Nelson’s father and stepfather, was in a custody battle with Nguyen at the time of the shooting.
“I have been praying for these boys and their surviving families for days now,” DA Weintraub said in a statement. “I am deeply saddened to hear of their death. This defendant’s murder of two of her sons is appalling and unreasonable. We will do what must be done to seek justice for all of them.”
She was sent to Bucks County Jail without bail. She did not have a lawyer listed on Monday.
This is an evolving story. Check back later for updates.