Police in the north-central Vietnamese province of Nghe An have arrested a woman for allegedly murdering her granddaughter after the girl’s body was discovered near a local dam last weekend.
Officers have taken 65-year-old P.T.H. into custody in connection with the recent death of her 11-year-old granddaughter N.T.T., according to a statement given Wednesday by Pham Van Luyen, chairman of Hau Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District, where H. currently resides.
The case file states that T. went missing on Sunday afternoon after attending a friend’s birthday party.
Her relatives later found the girl’s jacket, hat, and electric bicycle at the Bau Ganh dam, about three kilometers from her home.
Around 5:30 am on Tuesday morning, the girl’s body was discovered in the water near the dam.
According to family members, H., T’s grandmother, was completely out of contact during the time of the girl’s disappearance.
Officers have conducted an autopsy and extracted CCTV footage which appears to show T. leaving the birthday party and meeting her grandmother nearby at 4:29 pm on Sunday.
In the video, H. can be seen parking her bicycle at a local grocery. The pair then left together on the girl’s electric bicycle and headed in the direction of the Bau Ganh dam.
The grandmother returned to the grocery store by herself at 6:36 pm the same day to recover her bike.
H. was not heard or seen again until Monday night, when she returned home and claimed to family members that she had gone to Hanoi with a friend to look for a job.
T. carries her grandmother on an electric bike toward the Bau Ganh dam. Photo: K.Kien
According to Nguyen Hau Thanh, Hau Thanh Commune’s police chief, T. was the second oldest of H.’s son’s four children.
All four of the children live with grandparents in Nghe An, while their mother and father live and work in the south.
T.’s father returned home for a visit about a week ago, during which he and H. had an argument, the police official said.
Local residents said they were extremely shocked by the incident, adding that H. had always seemed to be a loving and caring grandmother.
Further investigation is ongoing.
Source: Tuoitre