A Texas man who killed his estranged wife and staged it to look like a robbery was sentenced to 55 years in prison, authorities announced Thursday.
Trang Vu, 52, who now goes by the name Itani Milleni, murdered 49-year-old Tuyet Ngoc Tran in 2015, according to a news release from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Tran, a beautician, was found bludgeoned to death at her beauty school and salon in Houston’s Chinatown, but a murder weapon was never found.
According to the release, detectives suspected from the beginning of the investigation that someone had staged the robbery to cover Tran’s killing because her credit cards and cash were never touched.
Three months after Tran’s death, Vu changed his name, moved away from Houston, and gave up his parental rights to the couple’s children, authorities said.
Four years later, he tried to collect money from Tran’s life insurance policy, prompting investigators to reexamine the case.
After a six-day trial and a 25-minute deliberation among jurors, Vu was found guilty of murder, according to the release.
“He thought he got away with murder,” Assistant District Attorney Stephany Abner said in a statement. “We’re happy that the victim and her family finally got justice because it was a long time coming.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
