A picture taken outside the East Flat home where the incident occurred in May 2023. (Image Credit: Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Court proceedings

Prince Albert murder case results in life sentence

Feb 27, 2026 | 3:10 PM

Editor’s note: This story contains details about domestic violence that some readers may find disturbing.

A man responsible for the death of his wife, and who repeatedly tried to stab one of his young daughters, has received a life sentence with parole eligibility after 17 years.

Thanh Nguyen, 48, was originally set for a three week trial, commencing next week at Court of King’s Bench in Prince Albert. However, the case was brought forward on Thursday in the form of a pre-trial motion.

Nguyen entered guilty pleas to second-degree murder and aggravated assault.

In the early morning hours of May 6, 2023, Prince Albert Police were called to a home in the 1100 block of Second Street East and advised there was a man in the basement trying to kill his wife.

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When police arrived on scene, they found 35-year-old Oanh Vo deceased inside the home.

Through an autopsy, the cause of death was determined to be a stab wound to the neck. The weapon was described as a kitchen knife.

According to the agreed statement of facts, the couple had moved to Canada in June of 2022. They were experiencing marital issues when, on the night of May 5, the couple’s oldest daughter witnessed her father attacking her mother. He was sitting on top of Vo and covering her mouth with his hands. The girl had been sleeping in the same bed as her mother at the time, and saw that she was bleeding. When she asked her Dad what he was doing, Nguyen moved over to his daughter and began attacking her. The girl fought back, grabbed the knife, and was able to defend herself, although the tip of the knife did penetrate her chest. When she tried to flee, Nguyen gave chase, grabbed her by the hair and hit her in the head with a ceramic bowl. Nguyen then grabbed a second knife, but again the girl was able to pull it away. She suffered some lacerations on her forehead and back, and a small puncture wound on her palm, in addition to the superficial stab wound to her chest.

Hearing the commotion, a man living upstairs ran downstairs and restrained Nguyen until police arrived.

In a warrant statement to police, with help from an interpreter, Nguyen said he had felt betrayed and considered suicide.

As part of their investigation, police recovered a number of items from the home, including a tablet that contained two plane tickets to Vietnam for the father and one of his children. The departure date was May 6, 2023.

A second female youth was located in the home, but was not injured. A publication ban prohibits the release of the ages and names of the youths.

If you or someone you know is suffering domestic violence, click here for a list of resources available that can help.

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nigel.maxwell@panow.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell