Security camera footage shows Nguyễn Ngọc C. bringing his deceased mother outside. — Photos vietnamnet.vn

HCM CITY — HCM City Police have said that the deceased mother in Bình Thanh District, whose son was caught on camera leaving her wrapped body in the alley near their house, died of natural causes.

The family agreed with this finding.

Security camera footage on the street showed that on May 24, the body of N.T.C.T. was wrapped in a blanket and brought outside of their home by her son, Nguyễn Ngọc C., who is 27 years old.

He is the only child of N.T.C.T., 63, and Nguyễn Hữu Bôn, 62. After working with investigation authorities, the son has returned to his daily job as a security guard at a hospital near his home.

Speaking to Vietnamnet, Bôn said that the family had been living in a small, run-down house in Alley 207 on Bạch Đằng Street, Bình Thạnh District, for 25 years.

The house was purchased by his wife’s family. Currently, the family owns no significant assets.

Bôn used to work as a barber but stopped work ten years ago due to old age.

His wife had long struggled with neurological issues, vestibular disorders and pneumonia, and mostly stayed at home. She had been bedridden for the past three months due to her deteriorating health.

Bôn's family has been living a small house in Bình Thạnh District, purchased by his wife family, for 25 years.

He explained that his son C. finished high school but was unable to attend university due to their family’s financial situation. Since then, he has worked various manual jobs to support the family.

He was recently employed at a security company and was assigned as a guard at a hospital.

According to Bôn, his son inherited some of C.’s neurological issues.

“My son wrapped his mother’s body in a blanket and left her on the street, I could somewhat understand his reasoning. His behaviour is not like others. I was upset at first, but after he explained that it was out of panic, I felt pity for him,” said Bôn.

Bôn recounted that on May 24 evening, he woke his wife up to let her have some water as usual, but discovered she had passed away.

Having taken care of her through a long period of illness, he had mentally prepared himself for this moment and did not feel overwhelmed by grief.

He went upstairs to call his son to come downstairs to be by his mother’s body. Bôn then fell asleep due to exhaustion.

“It wasn’t until the next morning that I heard from neighbours that my son had taken her body outside. I knew he was mentally unstable, but I never imagined he would do something so shocking,” Bôn said, adding that C. later told him he had panicked and didn’t know what to do.

“We were together for decades, but when she passed away, I couldn’t even afford to give her a proper funeral,” said Bôn as he talked about his family’s financial struggles.

On May 25 morning, local residents discovered T.’s body wrapped in a blanket on the street and immediately alerted the police, who then reviewed security camera footage in the area and identified the person who left the body as her son.

At the investigative authorities, C. stated that after his father told him that his mother had passed away, he felt overwhelmed. Fearing he couldn’t afford to handle funeral arrangements for her, he acted out of panic.

Their neighbours confirmed that their family is struggling financially. They described C. as quiet and somewhat mentally unstable.

The funeral services for T. have been completed as of Wednesday. — VNS