For years, To Thi Ty Na portrayed herself online as a devoted wife and loving mother, often sharing emotional tributes to her late husband and children, along with lavish displays of luxury living. But the tragic death of her youngest son - and the shocking revelations that followed - have exposed a horrifying truth beneath the facade.

A life far from what was shown online

Following her arrest on April 5 by police in Quang Nam province, To Thi Ty Na, 44, was charged with murdering her own child to claim life insurance money. Investigators revealed she was previously convicted in 2001 for theft and sentenced to over three years in prison.

Relatives describe Ty Na as irresponsible and extravagant. After her husband's death, she reportedly sold off all family assets, including their home and car, to fund a lavish lifestyle. She frequently disappeared from her hometown, even skipping her children’s death anniversaries, leaving family members to conduct the rites.

Her social media, however, painted a drastically different picture: tearful tributes, pictures of happy family outings, luxury jewelry purchases, and declarations of eternal love. One post even showed a tattoo of a family of six with the words "Forever Mylove." On the second anniversary of her husband’s death, she wrote that she would raise their children in his memory.

The illusion unraveled with the news that her own son, Nguyen Van H. (born 2017), had died under suspicious circumstances in 2023. The child’s body was discovered in the family’s bathroom, and despite Ty Na claiming he drowned in a water bucket, relatives grew suspicious.

Nguyen Thi Bich Tam, the boy’s paternal aunt who had cared for him for a long time, became alarmed when Ty Na abruptly came to take the child home. Just days later, she received word that he had died. She rushed to the house to find the boy already deceased. “She only said he fell into a bucket of water,” Tam recalled. She was the one who filed the police report that triggered the investigation.

A mother’s betrayal - and a nation’s outrage

As the investigation progressed, public reaction turned to outrage. The thought of a mother killing her own child for money was too horrifying to comprehend. Comments flooded in, condemning Ty Na’s “inhuman” and “morally bankrupt” actions. The betrayal struck a deep nerve, especially with the knowledge that her remaining two children - now in 9th and 11th grade - would carry emotional scars for life.

Reader Hai Thanh urged authorities and the community to support the surviving children, not only legally but psychologically. "The children must not be left alone after such a trauma," he wrote.

Legal consequences and societal alarm

According to lawyer Dang Xuan Cuong from TAT Law Firm, Na’s actions constitute the crime of murder under Article 123 of Vietnam’s Penal Code, with the maximum penalty being death. In addition, she could also be charged with insurance fraud under Article 213, which carries a penalty of up to 7 years in prison.

“Insurance fraud is not new,” said Cuong, “but killing one’s own child for financial gain is a new low - a complete moral collapse.”

Cuong emphasized the need for insurance companies to improve vetting processes, especially regarding beneficiaries in high-risk situations. More broadly, he urged society to consider this case as a wake-up call to the ethical, legal, and psychological risks that can arise when financial incentives are abused.

"This is not just a crime," he said. “It’s a collapse of conscience and humanity.”

Minh Vy