DA: Upper Makefield mother facing upgraded charges after sons die from injuries

UPPER MAKEFIELD, Pa. - The woman accused of shooting her two sons in the head in Upper Makefield on May 2 is now facing first-degree murder charges after her sons died from their injuries, the Bucks County District Attorney announced Monday.

Trinh T. Nguyen, 38, was arrested hours after the DA says she shot her sons Jeffrey, 13, and Nelson, 9, in the head as they slept in their beds. 

Officers and the mother of a neighbor entered the Nguyen home and found the boys in grave condition while authorities were searching for their mother who fled the scene. 

After Nguyen was arrested, she was taken to the hospital due to the "indication that she herself was under the influence of drugs."

The Council Rock School District also announced the boys’ death on Facebook saying, "It is with deep sadness that I share that Jeffrey and Nelson Tini passed away on Friday, May 6, 2022." 

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Jeffrey was an eighth-grader at Newtown Middle School and Nelson was a third-grader at Sol Feinstone, according to the school district. 

After her sons were taken off life support and died at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Friday, her charges were upgraded to two counts of first-degree murder, the DA says. 

Nguyen still faces an attempted homicide charge for attempting to shoot her 22-year-old neighbor, who is the nephew of her ex-husband. 

Investigators believe the shooting was an unsuccessful double murder-suicide. 

Nguyen planned the killing at least one week prior and left a handwritten will dated for April 25, 2022. In the will, she instructed the recipient on what to do with the remains of her and her sons, according to the DA's office. 

During her arraignment, Nguyen said she did not flee, but rather drove to New Jersey to get narcotics, which she took in an attempt to kill herself, the criminal complaint says. 

Authorities say a search warrant was obtained and executed for Nguyen's car. In it they found .38-calibery ammunition, empty and full packages of what is suspected to be heroin, and a note that read "Please call 911! My children are dead in their bed at 119 Timber Ridge Rd 18490." 

Investigators learned that Nguyen was being evicted from her home and was given a notice to vacate the residence by May 3, one day after the shooting, the DA announced.