PROVO, Utah — Rose Nguyen struggled to maintain her composure in the courtroom as her daughter's recordings were played.
The audio, secretly recorded by Rena Nguyen on her phone, were of arguments with her boyfriend, Caleb Aidan Rees.
"You’re acting like you have no choice!" Rees complained to her on one recording.
"Yeah, when you’ve proven to me you’re a threat to my safety? When you’ve proven to me that you’ll physically hurt me?" Rena replied.
In another recording, Nguyen takes her own life.
"Rena deserved to live, deserved to flourish. She deserved to feel safe. And though she is no longer with us, we will carry her love, her strength and her light forward for the rest of our lives. In her name, we stand against domestic violence," Rose Nguyen told reporters outside of court as a preliminary hearing got underway in Provo's 4th District Court for Rees.
She described Rena as "a beautiful soul," who moved to Utah to study at Brigham Young University. But Rose Nguyen said she and her husband, Keith, traveled to Utah to also share a message.
"We share her story that it may shine a light into the hidden places where domestic violence still thrives," Rose said.
Rees, 30, is charged with manslaughter in Rena's death in October 2021. Though Rena Nguyen shot and killed herself, Utah County prosecutors allege that it was Rees' actions that drove her to suicide.
In court documents, prosecutors allege a "tumultuous relationship" that included accusations of domestic violence and sexual assault against Rees. At one point, Rena had stayed in a shelter, police said. Rena, who recorded some of her conversations with Rees, had threatened to break up with him over accusations of him selling drugs (police said they seized a couple of pounds of marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms from his home during a search). On the day that she shot herself, police wrote in an affidavit filed with charging documents that Rena sent a text message to a friend saying: "I just put a loaded gun with the safety off to my head. I can’t keep doing this. I want to live but not like this."
Police wrote that Rena's friend woke up to the text message and called Orem police. An officer called Rena to check on her, which upset Rees and sparked another argument. Prosecutors said he yelled at her and threatened if police showed up he would shoot them and himself.
"Defendant then told Victim that she has to choose between going to a mental hospital, leaving, or going back to California because he does not want her there anymore. He also stated that she 'wasted his time and ruined his life,'" police wrote in the affidavit.
That recording was played for Judge Sean Peterson on Tuesday.
"Thanks Rena, for ruining my life," Rees is heard on the recording, singing in a mocking tone as he makes arrangements for her to be moved out of the home. Rena can be heard on the recording sobbing.
About the time Rees was on the phone with his mother, there is a muffled sound of movement. Then a gunshot is heard on the recording. Police alleged that Rees took a loaded handgun and moved it to a table next to the bedroom door — telling investigators that he meant to remove it from the room — but had placed it directly in her line of sight.
"I came in and heard 'boom,'" Rees told police during a recorded police interview that was also played in court on Tuesday.
Given her fragile mental state and his conduct toward her, prosecutors sought to make a case that Rena Nguyen would not have died without his "reckless" conduct. The case will resume on Thursday when Rees' defense attorney will question Orem police. Judge Peterson will ultimately decide if there is enough evidence to make Rees stand trial on manslaughter, gun and drug charges.
Rena Nguyen's parents are hoping for justice. They also want others to see and recognize signs of domestic violence to prevent anyone else from going through what they have.
"As we are speaking today, there could be other lives that are also in danger," Rose Nguyen said. "So bringing awareness when it comes to domestic violence is important. It could be our friend, it could be our loved one, it could be somebody that is close to us. The more we break the silence of domestic violence, the more we can save lives. That’s what we are doing."
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For those struggling with thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can now be reached by simply dialing 988 any time for free support. Resources are also available online at utahsuicideprevention.org.
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Resources for domestic violence victims/prevention (free, 24/7, confidential):
Utah Domestic Violence Coalition
- Hotline: 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
- Online help: udvc.org
National Domestic Violence Hotline
- 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
- Online live chat: thehotline.org
- If you or someone else is in immediate danger, or in an emergency, call 9-1-1 immediately.
