Fort Worth, TX — A Tarrant County judge sentenced 54-year-old Hung “Billy” Son Nguyen to life in prison on September 18, 2025, after he pleaded guilty to the 2018 murder of his ex-girlfriend and a series of violent attacks that followed.
On March 9, 2018, investigators say Nguyen fatally stabbed 38-year-old Chi Bich Pham inside her Grand Prairie home before setting the house on fire. Firefighters discovered Pham’s body after extinguishing the blaze.
After leaving the scene, Nguyen drove to the Lake Side Nail Salon, where he and Pham had previously worked. Once there, he set his truck on fire in the parking lot and attacked a former coworker, dousing her with gasoline and attempting to set her on fire. When his lighter failed, Nguyen pulled a gun and tried to shoot the woman, but the weapon misfired.
A bystander with a concealed handgun license intervened, holding Nguyen at gunpoint until police arrived. Emergency crews later linked the salon attack to the deadly house fire, confirming Pham’s death as a homicide. The coworker who was attacked was treated at a local hospital and later released.
Nguyen was originally indicted on charges of capital murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and arson. Prosecutors Chase Payne and Allenna Bangs handled the case.
Pham, the victim, was a mother of two and also raising three nieces and nephews after her sister’s death from cancer.
With Nguyen’s guilty plea, Pham’s family — including the five children she left behind — were spared the pain of a lengthy trial.
