Jury Convicts Dung Van Nguyen of Manslaughter in 2023 Stabbing Death of Chien Vo Aboard Bayou La Batre Shrimp Boat
Jurors returned the lesser verdict after a trial that included surveillance video showing the defendant using the boat's winch to move the victim's body. Sentencing is set for Feb. 4.
MOBILE, Ala. — A Mobile County jury has found Dung Van Nguyễn guilty of manslaughter in the stabbing death of a fellow shrimp boat worker in Bayou La Batre, District Attorney Keith Blackwood announced.
Nguyễn, of Mobile, was indicted on a murder charge in the April 15, 2023, death of Chien Vo. After deliberating, jurors convicted him of the lesser-included offense of manslaughter. The trial began last month with the defense claiming self-defense.
What jurors heard
According to the district attorney’s office, evidence at trial showed that the two men worked aboard the same shrimp boat and had an altercation that the state believes involved money. After the altercation ended, prosecutors said, Nguyễn returned with a knife and fatally stabbed Vo.
Surveillance footage shown to the jury captured Nguyễn using the boat’s winch to pull Vo’s body from inside the cabin. He then tied the body to a steel plate and pushed it through a hatch into the canal, according to the evidence presented.
District attorney’s response
Blackwood said prosecutors plan to seek a stiff sentence.
“After fatally stabbing Chien Vo, this defendant tied his body to a steel plate and pushed him into a canal. He then continued working for weeks as though nothing had happened,” he said. “That callous disregard for another human being’s life is appalling. Chien Vo’s life mattered, and we will seek a sentence that reflects the gravity of what this defendant did.”
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 4, 2027.
