A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (May 22) sentenced Lam Thach to life in prison plus 40 years for his conviction of fatally stabbing his girlfriend and then discarding evidence tying him to the crime.
Thach, 43, was convicted as charged by a jury earlier this month of the second-degree murder of Ngoc Bich Nguyen, 41.
Thach, who has a history of domestic violence, stabbed her in the neck inside his mobile home in Marrero on Aug. 1, 2021. He then fled on foot, removing his shirt as he walked and tossing it in a nearby garbage bin — leading to his conviction of obstruction of justice.
Nguyen, the oldest of six children and the mother of two, bled to death while being cradled in her mother’s arms on the ground at the Ames Boulevard trailer park. Just moments earlier, Nguyen’s mother witnessed Thach pulling the kitchen knife from her firstborn’s neck.
“Her pain is immeasurable,” one of Nguyen’s younger sisters said of her mother in victim-impact testimony on Wednesday. “Our family will forever bear the scars of this tragedy.”
Click here to read about the trial.
After denying defense motions for a new trial and post-verdict judgment of acquittal, 24th Judicial District Court Judge Ellen Shirer Kovach sentenced Thach to the mandatory life sentence in prison for the murder and the maximum 40 years in prison for obstruction of justice.
Judge Kovach ran the sentences consecutively and then denied the defense motion to reconsider her sentencing decision.
“I believe that the sentence is justified, given the horrific nature of the crime, given the victim impact testimony and, in particular, the lack of remorse shown by Mr. Thach,” Judge Kovach said. She noted Thach laughing when questioned by a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detective after his arrest.
Assistant District Attorneys Lindsay Truhe and Tommy Block prosecuted the case.