Fresno man found guilty of killing his wife and her suspected lover

A 62-year-old Fresno man was found guilty Wednesday of murdering his wife and her lover in the Fresno County field where they worked in 2015.

After less than a day of deliberations, a Fresno County jury found Leuth Sengsongkham guilty in the second-degree murder of his wife, Rattana Chounramany, and the first-degree murder of Somkeo Thongkhamvilay, a friend who was having an affair with Chounramany. The jury also found that Sengsongkham used a gun, which means he will face extra prison time.

Sengsongkham is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 21. The Fresno County District Attorney’s office said he will face a sentence of up to 90 years in prison but will be eligible for early release after 25 years under the state’s Elderly Parole Program.

According to court records, Sengsongkham shot Thongkhamvilay six times and Chounramany twice on April 18, 2015 in a field where all three worked near Chestnut and Adams avenues in southern Fresno County. He left both bodies in the field and drove to Henderson, Nevada to visit his daughter.

After Sengsongkham told his daughter what he had done, she took him to the police station in Henderson, where he surrendered. Sengsongkham’s relatives found the two bodies in the field shortly after and called the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

Sengsongkham and Chounramany met in 1983, shortly after he immigrated to the U.S. from Laos. The couple lived in Fresno ever since, raising seven children together.

During the trial, Sengsongkham admitted to the killings. His lawyer, Roberto Dulce, told the jury he had attempted to reconcile with his wife, who did not want to get back together.

“He just lost it,” Dulce said of Sengsongkham’s mental state.

The primary issue for the jury to decide was whether to convict him of murder or lesser manslaughter charges, which would have carried sentences of about 11 years.

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 5:25 PM with the headline "Fresno man found guilty of killing his wife and her suspected lover."