Ex-husband of Bucks County mom who killed sons sues her for wrongful death

Jo Ciavaglia, Bucks County Courier Times
·2 min read

A Philadelphia man has filed a wrongful death suit against his ex-wife, who is now serving a life sentence in prison for killing their children in the Upper Makefield home they once shared.

Edward Tini filed the lawsuit in Bucks County Common Pleas court earlier this year after Trinh Nguyen, 40, was sentenced to serve two life sentences plus up to 20 years.

In December, Nguyen, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the May 2, 2022 deaths of Jeffrey Tini, 13, and Nelson Tini, 9, and the attempted murder of Edward Tini’s adult nephew. The plea spared Nguyen from the death penalty, if convicted.

The father of Nelson Tini is suing his ex-wife Trinh Nguyen for wrongful death. Nguyen was convicted of murdering Nelson and Jeffrey Tini in 2022.
The father of Nelson Tini is suing his ex-wife Trinh Nguyen for wrongful death. Nguyen was convicted of murdering Nelson and Jeffrey Tini in 2022.

More on the Trinh Nguyen case Trinh Nguyen was called a loving, devoted mom in court. What made her kill her two sons?

Nguyen shot and fatally wounded her sons as they slept in their beds. The boys succumbed to their injuries four days later.

While both boys carried Tini’s last name, Jeffery’s biological father was Nguyen’s first husband, whom she divorced in 2009.  Nelson was born in 2012. Tini and Nguyen married in 2015, and divorced in 2021; they had shared custody of Nelson.

Tini is seeking more than $50,000, according to the lawsuit. He is seeking reimbursement for funeral costs, estate administration expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering. Edward Tini is also the executor for his son’s estate, which is also named as a plaintiff.

The suit argues that Nguyen is ineligible to receive anything from her son Nelson’s estate under the Pennsylvania Slayer Statute, which bars convicted murderers from receiving any benefit as a result of a death.

Attorney Douglas Mormello, who is representing Tini, did not respond to an email seeking comment on the suit.

The filing does not mention what assets Nguyen possesses. Court records show she received a $220,000 payout at the time of her divorce. At trial, though, she was represented by the public defender's office.

In this 2022 photo investigators work on the scene of an Upper Makefield home Nelson Tini, 9, and Jeffrey Tini, 13, were shot . Their mother, Trinh Nguyen, was convicted of their murders, and attempted murder of a third person in 2023.
In this 2022 photo investigators work on the scene of an Upper Makefield home Nelson Tini, 9, and Jeffrey Tini, 13, were shot . Their mother, Trinh Nguyen, was convicted of their murders, and attempted murder of a third person in 2023.

The murders of the Tini brothers shocked the Upper Makefield community where the family lived. A motive for the murders has never been revealed, but it occurred the day before Nguyen and her sons were to be evicted from a rented three-bedroom Timber Ridge Road home for failing to pay more than $11,000 in rent.

Hours after shooting her sons, and attempting to shoot her ex-husband’s nephew Nguyen was arrested in the parking lot of a nearby church.  Authorities said Nguyen had heroin in her system in what police described as a suicide attempt.

Shortly after her arrest Nguyen was involuntarily committed to Norristown State Psychiatric Hospital for treatment where she remained until earlier this year when she was found to be mentally competent to stand trial.

Nguyen is currently incarcerated in the State Correctional Institution in Muncy.

Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: She murdered her two sons, now Trinh Nguyen is being sued by her ex.