HÀ NỘI — The Hà Nội People's Court on Friday sentenced Australian national McMullen Brian Anthony, 62, to 13 years in prison on a murder charge, as he attempted to kill his Vietnamese wife after a dispute triggered by his suspicions of infidelity.

According to the indictment by the Hà Nội People's Procuracy, Anthony met Nguyễn Thị L, 50, a Hà Nội resident, through social media in 2023 before moving to Việt Nam.

The couple married on July 24, 2023, and lived together with L's two children from a previous relationship.

At around 6.45pm on April 19, 2025, the couple were sitting on a bed in a second-floor bedroom when Anthony read messages between L. and several other men. Suspecting that his wife was having an affair, he argued with her, prompting L. to tell him to leave the house.

The argument escalated into a physical altercation, with the two pushing and shoving each other around the bedroom. During the scuffle, L. dug her fingernails into the back of Anthony's hand, causing an injury.

Angered by the injury, Anthony grabbed a cylindrical metal bar and struck L. across the body, causing her to fall to her knees. Despite her pleas for him to stop, he struck her twice more, hitting her left forearm and the left side of her head.

L. collapsed to the floor with severe bleeding from her head. After seeing her lying motionless, Anthony dropped the metal bar.

When L.'s daughter came downstairs, Anthony repeatedly shouted in English that everyone was crazy before taking his bag and wallet from the bedside and leaving the house.

L.'s two children called an ambulance and took their mother to hospital for emergency treatment.

Medical examinations found that L. had suffered a brain contusion in the left temporal region, a fracture of the left parietal bone extending to the greater wing of the sphenoid bone, and a fracture involving the left orbital roof.

She was treated in hospital from April 19 to July 21, 2025. Although timely medical intervention saved her life, the injuries left her with a 59 per cent health impairment, according to the assessment cited in the case.

Anthony was arrested by Hà Nội police on April 20, 2025. — VNS