Mental competency case dropped for Upper Makefield murder suspect. What happens next?

Jo Ciavaglia, Bucks County Courier Times
Updated ·4 min read

In an unexpected move, an attorney representing an Upper Makefield woman accused of killing her sons no longer wants to keep her at a state psychiatric hospital where she has been receiving treatment since shortly after her arrest.

Trinh Nguyen also waived her first appearance, which was scheduled for Thursday, at which a district court judge would've decided if there is enough evidence to hold her for trial in the shooting deaths of Jeffery and Nelson Tini, ages 13 and 9, respectively.

All charges, including two first-degree murder and attempted murder, against Nguyen were held without negotiations, Bucks County First Assistant District Attorney Jen Schorn confirmed.

On Monday, Bucks County Deputy Public Defender Deborah Weinman withdrew a petition seeking Nguyen's recommitment to Norristown State Psychiatric Hospital for another 90 days. The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office had opposed the request.

Two bicycles sit parked outside an Upper Makefield home where two boys, 10 and 13 years old, were shot Monday morning. By noon, their mother, 38-year-old Trinh Nguyen, was taken into police custody for the shooting, according to Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub.
Two bicycles sit parked outside an Upper Makefield home where two boys, 10 and 13 years old, were shot Monday morning. By noon, their mother, 38-year-old Trinh Nguyen, was taken into police custody for the shooting, according to Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub.

The latest with Trinh Nguyen Upper Makefield mom accused of shooting sons mentally incompetent, according to defense

Weinman did not list a reason for withdrawing the petition, which was done the day before a competency hearing was scheduled before Bucks County Judge Ray McHugh. Chief Public Defender Ann Russavage-Faust declined comment in an email Tuesday, citing that the case is pending.

As recently as March 31, a licensed psychologist evaluated Nguyen and determined she remains mentally incompetent to stand trial and requested an “extended commitment” to restore her competency, according to court documents.

The 39-year-old had been involuntarily committed since shortly after her May 2, 2022 arrest on charges.

Under state and federal law, a criminal case against a defendant found to be mentally incompetent cannot proceed until the person is evaluated by a mental health professional and found to be able to assist in preparing a defense for themselves and understand the criminal proceedings they are undergoing.  A judge can order a defendant who is mentally incompetent to be committed to a mental hospital and undergo treatment to restore their competency.

The withdrawal could signal that the defense is planning to seek a dismissal of charges because the defendant cannot be restored to mental competency, said Lisa Dailey said, executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center in Virginia. In that case, a judge could order a civil commitment to a mental hospital.

Another “relatively common” situation is a client who is actively mentally ill, instructs the defense attorney to withdraw the petition against legal advice, Dailey said.

“It isn’t strategically a sensible thing to do,” she added. “In theory the judge should not allow a person to proceed if they are actually not competent to proceed, but it does happen.

Jeffrey "JT" Tini, 13, and his brother, Nelson Tini, 9, were shot in their home Monday, May 2, 2022. Their mother, Trinh Nguyen has been charged.
Jeffrey "JT" Tini, 13, and his brother, Nelson Tini, 9, were shot in their home Monday, May 2, 2022. Their mother, Trinh Nguyen has been charged.

More: Why being found incompetent for trial is a tough bar to clear in Pennsylvania

Prosecutors allege Nguyen shot her sons in their heads as they slept in their rented Timber Ridge Road home. The boys succumbed to their injuries on May 9, 2022.

She is also charged with attempting to shoot the nephew of her former husband, who lived in an adjacent home on the property.

Nguyen was arrested the day of the killings in a nearby church parking lot hours after the boys were found dead by police and the aunt who owns the home.  Authorities said Nguyen had heroin in her system in what police described as a suicide attempt.

Prosecutors have provided no motive for the shootings, which occurred the day before Nguyen was being evicted from the home for failing to pay more than $11,000 in rent. The home is owned by her former sister-in-law.

Authorities found a handwritten note dated a week before the murders that Nguyen allegedly wrote with information on what to do with her and her sons’ ashes. She also allegedly left a note in the minivan revealing that her sons, both Council Rock District students, were dead and the address of the home with a request to call 911.

Records show that Nguyen was also involved in a custody dispute with her former husband, Edward Tini, of Philadelphia. The couple separated and divorced in 2021 and Tini had opposed Nguyen’s plans to take Nelson to visit her family in Vietnam over summer vacation.

Nguyen had sole custody of Jeffrey Tini, whose father she divorced in 2009. She has a third son, who is 17, and lives on the West Coast with his father, Nguyen’s first husband.

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Upper Makefield mom accused of murder withdraws mental competency case