On December 23, the Appellate Court of the Supreme People's Court in Da Nang announced that it had rejected the appeal for a reduced sentence and sentenced defendant Doan Mai Khanh (30 years old, residing in Phu Thuan commune, Da Nang) to death for the crime of "Murder".
According to the case file, Khanh lived with his biological mother, Ms. H., in Thuan Hoa village, Phu Thuan commune. On the morning of December 31, 2024, after waking up, upset because he thought his mother was not worried about eating, the defendant used a knife to kill Ms. H., causing the victim to die on the spot.
After committing the crime, Khanh tried to conceal his crime, wrapping the victim's body in a blanket with the intention of taking him to the burial. However, when moving through Phu Thuan market, due to exhaustion, the defendant left the body on the side of the road. People discovered unusual incidents and reported them to the police.
The forensic psychiatric assessment conclusion determined that Khanh suffered from psychosis due to the use of many types of drugs. However, the prosecution agency affirmed that at the time of committing the crime, the defendant was aware of his actions and was capable of taking criminal responsibility.
Notably, Khanh has a particularly bad character. Previously, in 2015, the defendant was sentenced by the People's Court to 3 years and 6 months in prison for robbery; in 2022, he was sentenced to 2 years in prison for the crime of Intentionally causing injury. After serving his prison sentence for less than 9 months, Khanh committed another particularly serious crime.
At the first instance trial at the end of July 2025, the People's Court of Da Nang City sentenced the defendant to death. Khanh appealed for a reduced sentence.
In the appeal trial, the Trial Council determined that the defendant's actions were particularly serious, demonstrating cruelty, disregard for the law and social morality, directly violating the lives of others, causing public outrage. The trial panel believes that the death sentence that the first instance court has declared is the correct person, the correct crime, the correct law, and there is no basis to accept the appeal.
On that basis, the Court of Appeal decided to reject the appeal, uphold the first instance judgment, and uphold the death sentence for defendant Doan Mai Khanh.
