Bayou La Batre Shrimp Boat Murder Case Set for Trial Nov. 2 as Defense Claims Self-Defense

MOBILE, Ala. — A Bayou La Batre shrimp boat murder case stemming from a 2022 death is set to go before a jury next month, after the prosecution and defense told a Mobile County judge they are ready for trial.

Dung Van Nguyen, 58, is charged with murder in the 2022 death of Chien Van Vo, 71, a fellow crew member who lived aboard the same vessel. Mobile County Circuit Judge Vicki Davis has set the trial for Monday, Nov. 2. Nguyen has not been convicted and is presumed innocent.

Ready for trial

At a recent hearing, both sides told Davis they were prepared to proceed. The judge also approved funding for an independent translation of an interview investigators conducted with Nguyen. That interview was carried out in Vietnamese by a Jackson County sheriff’s deputy who speaks the language.

Independent translations are common in cases where a defendant’s statements were made in a language other than English. Because a jury will hear the interview through an English version, the accuracy of the translation can matter a great deal to both sides, and courts generally allow the defense the resources to check the work.

What prosecutors allege

Nguyen and Vo worked together and both lived on the boat, according to prosecutors. The state alleges that Nguyen stabbed Vo, killing him, and then pushed his body off the vessel.

Vo was reported missing after the boat left port in April 2022. His body was later found in the water off Tram Avenue in Bayou La Batre with a puncture wound.

Defense says it was self-defense

Nguyen’s attorney, Will Alford, has offered a very different account. Alford said his client had loaned Vo $100 and confronted him about repaying it. According to Alford, Vo responded by punching Nguyen in the eye, and Nguyen pulled a knife to defend himself.

Alford said Nguyen was holding the knife when Vo lunged at him and fell onto the blade. Whether the jury accepts that version of events, or the prosecution’s, is expected to be the central question at trial.

How self-defense works in Alabama

Alabama law allows a person to use physical force to defend himself against what he reasonably believes is the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by someone else. Deadly force is justified only in narrower circumstances, such as when a person reasonably believes another is using or about to use unlawful deadly physical force.

When a defendant raises self-defense at trial and there is evidence to support it, the judge instructs the jury on the law, and jurors decide whether the defendant’s actions were justified. The burden remains on the state to prove the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

Murder is a Class A felony in Alabama. A conviction carries a prison sentence of 10 years to 99 years or life, and the range rises to a minimum of 20 years when a deadly weapon is used. Jurors may also be asked to consider lesser offenses, such as manslaughter, depending on the evidence presented.

A working waterfront

Bayou La Batre, in south Mobile County along Mississippi Sound, has long been known as the “Seafood Capital of Alabama.” The small city is home to shrimp boats, seafood processors and shipyards, and many commercial fishermen live aboard their vessels for long stretches while working the Gulf.

The city also has a large Southeast Asian community. Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian refugees began settling there in the late 1970s and 1980s, and many found work in the shrimping and seafood industries. Many Vietnamese American families still work in the local fleet and seafood businesses.

What comes next

• Trial date: Monday, Nov. 2, 2026
• Court: Mobile County Circuit Court, Judge Vicki Davis presiding
• Defendant: Dung Van Nguyen, 58, charged with murder
• Victim: Chien Van Vo, 71, a fellow crew member
• Key issue: Whether the stabbing was murder, as prosecutors allege, or self-defense, as the defense contends

South AL News will follow the case as it goes to trial.