Võ Thành Long, detained by the Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu Police on charges of murder and robbery. Photo courtesy of Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Police

BÀ RỊA - VŨNG TÀU Võ Thành Long, 20, is accused of murdering a girl and stealing her belongings, while his friend Vũ Thành Huy helped him dispose of the body in a suitcase.

On May 24, Long was temporarily detained by the Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu Police on charges of murder and robbery; Huy, 25, was indicted for concealing a crime and consuming property acquired through crime.

Long met the 21-year-old girl from Bình Khánh commune, Cần Giờ district, Hồ Chí Minh City, via Facebook. On May 18, Long invited Huy from Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu to pick her up and take her to Vũng Tàu City.

According to investigators, at midnight on May 19, Long, Huy, and the girl rented two rooms at a hotel in Ward 2, Vũng Tàu City. Long then stayed with the girl.

After having sex, Long strangled the girl to death and took her ring, necklace, earrings, and her iPhone 12 Pro Max phone. He then told Huy about the incident.

Vũ Thành Huy, who helped Long dispose the victim's body, was indicted for concealing a crime and consuming property acquired through crime. Photo courtesy of Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Police

At 10:30 am on May 19, Long bought a suitcase and, with Huy, placed the girl's body inside and carried it on an electric bicycle. Long then took the suitcase and disposed it in an abandoned landfill at Núi Nhỏ, Vũng Tàu. The two then sold the victim's belongings to spend the money, and Long kept the girl's phone.

Twelve hours after receiving the request to assist in locating the missing girl from the Cần Giờ District Police, the Criminal Police Department of Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu Police apprehended Long while he was hiding in Bình Tân District, Hồ Chí Minh City. Huy was also arrested shortly after.

Residents living near the female victim's home described her as beautiful, as the youngest of three children in a working-class family, with two older brothers. She worked as a nail technician in central Hồ Chí Minh City, commuting daily.

From May 19, residents heard that the victim's family was searching for her as she did not return home. She had asked for permission to go out until 9 PM, but later, no one could contact her. After failing to find their daughter, the family reported her missing to the police. VNS