Lien Nguyen, a 40-year-old Vietnamese man, was found shot multiple times on the side of a road in an isolated area of New Orleans, Louisiana, on the night of April 23, 2013. A witness who discovered him bleeding from the mouth and neck with his hands tied behind his back called 911. Before succumbing to his injuries at the scene, Lien Nguyen told the witness that his wife was responsible for the shooting.
The witness also reported seeing a silver or gray Nissan Titan speeding away from the location.
The investigation into the death of Lien Nguyen quickly focused on his wife, Charity Nguyen, and her lover, Khoi Quang Hoang. Police uncovered a murder-for-hire plot allegedly orchestrated by the pair for financial gain and to enable their affair. Investigators believed that Charity Nguyen and Khoi Hoang had solicited a hitman to kill Lien Nguyen. Both Charity Nguyen and Khoi Hoang were subsequently arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, solicitation to commit second-degree murder, and second-degree murder. Hoang also faced a charge of obstruction of justice.
The legal proceedings that followed were complex and took different paths for the two main suspects. Khoi Hoang was tried separately from Charity Nguyen. At his trial, the jury was deadlocked on the murder-related charges but found him guilty of obstruction of justice. This conviction was based on allegations that he had tampered with a home surveillance system and removed the license plate from a Nissan Titan that had been loaned to him. He was initially sentenced to 35 years, which was later increased to a mandatory life sentence as a multiple offender. However, this conviction was later overturned on appeal, with the court finding insufficient evidence to prove he was responsible for the removal of the license plate or surveillance system. In a subsequent decision, the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed the appellate court's ruling and reinstated Hoang's conviction and life sentence for obstruction of justice.
Charity Nguyen's trial for the murder of her husband began in September 2016. Prosecutors presented evidence of her affair with Khoi Hoang and the alleged plot to have her husband killed for a payout of $10,000 and a pound of marijuana. A key piece of evidence was Lien Nguyen's dying declaration to the witness who found him, where he implicated his wife. Despite the accusations and the dramatic final words of her husband, the jury found Charity Nguyen not guilty on all counts.
