Loudoun County Man Pleads No Contest to First Degree Murder

Image, courtesy of Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office

On September 30, Minh Nguyen, the Ashburn man accused of shooting and killing his ex-wife’s new husband in January, pleaded no contest to first degree murder charges.

According to deputies, Nguyen entered an Ashburn Village townhome in the 44200 block of Sonora Lane at 9:30 p.m. and shot Corey Mattison, a former North Carolina State University baseball player.

There were two children inside the home at the time. And Nguyen’s ex-wife and another child returned home as the incident was unfolding.

In July, Denise Mattison testified against her ex-husband when a grand jury indicted Nguyen stating that he was angry when she arrived at the school to pick up their daughter and Nguyen didn’t see their other children in the car.

Nguyen also pleaded no contest, or guilty, to four other counts: use of a firearm in an attempt to commit first-degree murder, breaking and entering into a residence, destruction of property, burglary of a residence and malicious wounding.

The trial for formal sentencing will occur on Feb. 18 and 19.

The defense requested two days in anticipation of its planned lengthy testimony, hoping to reduce the sentence by discussing Nguyen’s mental health. The commonweath is also planning to add testimonies of Corey Mattison’s mother Kathy Vestal, Detective Mike Grimsley and Denise Mattison.