Hai Van Nguyen was a 33-year-old resident of Stanton, California, who died on May 17, 2018. Authorities treated his death as a homicide after investigators determined he was involved in a violent altercation that led to his death.

Several suspects were identified and arrests followed. The primary suspect, Cuong Viet Nguyen, was captured after a tip from a viewer of America’s Most Wanted. Prosecutors presented eyewitness testimony, forensic evidence, and admissions they said tied Cuong Viet Nguyen and accomplices to a planned attack motivated by a personal vendetta and prior conflicts. The defense argued the evidence was circumstantial and pointed to inconsistencies in witnesses’ accounts, but the jury returned a guilty verdict and Cuong Viet Nguyen received a lengthy prison sentence.