Jury decides fate of husband who stabbed wife to death in Fresno home. She had 3 children
A Fresno County jury found Chinnawat Vue guilty of first-degree murder on Tuesday for stabbing his 22-year-old wife more than 100 times.
The 31-year-old Vue had little to no reaction as the jury’s verdict was read. His public defender Phillip Billington declined to comment.
Vue never denied killing his 22-year-old wife Xia Vang while the couple argued inside their northeast Fresno home on March 8, 2016. In interviews with police and in court Vue said that he killed his wife because if he couldn’t have her, nobody would.
Billington wanted the jury to believe Vue was driven to kill his wife because she was having an affair with an older, married man.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Elana Smith dismissed Vue’s version of events. During her closing statement Monday, she described the defendant as a controlling husband who drank too much and physically abused his wife.
Vang, who had three children, felt trapped and wanted out of her marriage, Smith said. But she got little support from the family’s elders.
“She was very young and had a dream of becoming a social worker,” Smith said on Monday. “But instead her life took a different direction. She was in an abusive relationship where he controlled almost every aspect of her life.”
Vang’s older sister, Daisy Vang, said she felt a sense a relief that Vue was convicted of first-degree murder. But she also felt an overwhelming feeling of sadness that her sister’s life was cut short in such a horrific way.
During the trial, photos were shown of Vang bloodied with stab wounds covering her body. Police said Vue stabbed his wife 101 times. Her face was completely unrecognizable.
“It was hard to see her like that,” Daisy Vang said. “I cannot even imagine what she was going through. But I want to remember her as a kind, beautiful and loving mother.”
Vue will be sentenced on March 7 and could face a maximum prison sentence of 26-years-to-life.
This story was originally published January 10, 2023 at 6:07 PM.
