PROVO, Utah — A judge has ordered an Orem man to stand trial on a manslaughter charge in connection with the suicide of his girlfriend.
After several days of hearings, 4th District Court Judge Sean Petersen ordered Caleb Aidan Rees, 30, to face trial on manslaughter, drug and gun charges. Utah County prosecutors have leveled a unique case against Rees, accusing him of being so abusive to Rena Nguyen that she took her own life.
Prosecutors allege Nguyen confronted her boyfriend about allegations of drug dealing and they got into a series of arguments. She texted a friend that she had put a gun to her head. She also recorded on her phone the arguments and the confrontation that led to her death. Prosecutors said she was distraught, he berated her and left a loaded handgun on a table in their bedroom within her line of sight before walking out of the room. Police testified they believed she grabbed the gun and shot herself.
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The recordings of their arguments and her suicide were played in court earlier this week. But Rees' defense attorney argued that the only one responsible for Nguyen's death is her.
"Mr. Rees did not provide the physical means here. As I've mentioned, he did everything he could in that moment to make it even harder for her to commit suicide," Rees' attorney, Jeremy Shimada, told the judge. "You also heard the testimony of the officer that at the time they performed a welfare check phone call and the officers themselves based on that conversation no longer believed Rena to be intending to commit suicide."
But prosecutors argued to Judge Petersen that Rees did aid in her death, in a roundabout way.
"I admit, we have no evidence he gave her the gun and said 'kill yourself,'" deputy Utah County Attorney Adam Pomeroy said. "I’ll admit your honor, he didn’t give her a rope to hang herself. He did everything but those acts."
Judge Petersen said he found enough evidence to bind Rees over to face trial. Rees will enter a formal plea to the charges at a hearing next month.
Nguyen's parents, who traveled to Utah for one of the hearings, expressed gratitude to the judge, prosecutors and their lawyers for the outcome of the hearings. The family has publicly shared Rena's story, urging people to recognize signs of domestic violence and break the silence surrounding it.
"From the very beginning, we have believed that Rena deserves nothing less than the full measure of justice. She was deeply loved. Her life mattered. She deserved to be protected and be safe. And we continue to trust that the Utah community will see the truth and help us honor her memory in the only way we can now—by seeking the justice she so rightly deserves," Rose and Keith Nguyen said in a statement to FOX 13 News following the hearing.
If you or someone you know needs help, call, text, or chat 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Prevention Lifeline.
