Life imprisonment for Vietnamese pub murderer
Monday, 30 Oct 2006 13:00
Thu Van Nguyen was drinking alone in the pub before the murder took place
A Vietnamese man has been sentenced to at least 14 years in prison for murdering a man in an east London pub in the early hours of Christmas Eve last year.
Thu Van Nguyen, 31, of Upton Park in London, thrust the pint glass he was holding into the neck of 23-year-old Billy Gregory after a brief argument between the two at the Earl of Chatham pub in the centre of Woolwich on Friday December 23rd last year.
Mr Gregory collapsed from blood loss after a 5cm wound cut through two of his main arteries. He was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich but during emergency surgery, in the early hours of Christmas morning, suffered a stroke and died.
Nguyen had been drinking alone at the pub when Mr Gregory arrived at the pub with a group of friends. The two had exchanged words at the bar, after which CCTV footage showed Nguyen staring maliciously at Mr Gregory from a distance.
Friends of the victim say that Mr Gregory brushed against Nguyen when the two were in the toilet and the jury heard it was this light physical contact which caused Nguyen to lash out.
"This verdict is great," Mr Gregory's parents, Sue and Terry Gregory, said following the conviction. "We would like to thank the jury. We would also like to thank the witnesses who gave evidence.
"Our thanks also go to the Metropolitan police, the Crown Prosecution Service, and all the staff and officers of the Old Bailey. Tragically Billy is gone forever and nothing will ever bring him back."