According to the Orange County Register, 31-year-old Son Lam Nguyen is charged with murdering his 71-year-old mother during an argument over his not wanting to become a doctor. Nguyen admitted he choked his mother, Nuong Thu Nguyen, during an argument over his career plans. Nguyen’s family members support him, whom they feel suffered from mental illness. The mother and son lived together in the Caribbean, where the son attended medical school at Ross University. They came to Garden Grove, Calif. during a school break, and on the night of Dec. 21, 2008, Son Nguyen’s mother argued against him dropping out, and said he needed to bring honor to the family by becoming a doctor. He told police that he went “ballistic” and choked his mother. He contends she was alive when he left the apartment, but that when he returned in the morning, she was dead. A medical examiner testified that the mother officially died because of a heart attack, caused by the strangulation.
