A Garden Grove resident is currently standing trial again for the brutal attack and attempted rape of an elderly woman who was taking her morning walk in their neighborhood. The defendant’s attorney asserts that he is an innocent bystander who found himself involved in suspicious circumstances.
Michael Aon Varela, now 36, is facing charges of special circumstances murder while committing a rape for the fatal assault on 68-year-old Dzung Thi Nguyen on September 9, 2017. This comes nearly a year after his initial trial ended with a hung jury.
Deputy District Attorney Casey Cunningham described the events as a “brutal, horrific, and senseless murder.” According to the prosecution, Varela, who was intoxicated after a night of drinking, attacked Nguyen when he returned home. She lived in the same neighborhood as Varela, near the 22 Freeway and Beach Boulevard, and had a routine of taking early morning walks and collecting recyclables.
“He violently assaulted her, stripped her clothes off, and when she refused to submit, he continued to beat her until she lost consciousness, became unresponsive, and passed away several days later,” explained the prosecutor.
Upon opening his front door around 5 a.m., Varela’s father discovered a shirtless Varela, covered in blood, with a partially unclothed Nguyen on their front lawn. Varela claimed to his father that he had found Nguyen in the street, half-naked and injured. When his father questioned him further, an agitated Varela defensively asked if he was being accused.
The prosecutor noted that Nguyen’s DNA was found on Varela’s genitals, and Varela’s DNA was found on her clothing. Varela also had scratches on various parts of his body, including his arm, knee, and above his eye. While surveillance cameras did not capture the assault, they did show Varela’s car headlights parking at 4:38 a.m. and recyclables believed to have been collected by Nguyen in the street at 5:09 a.m., leading investigators to believe that the attack occurred within that timeframe.
Varela’s defense attorney, Deputy Public Defender Arlene Speiser, denied that Varela was the perpetrator. Speiser portrayed Varela as someone known for helping others in need.
“Michael Varela, my client, walked into a situation that became anyone’s worst nightmare,” Speiser informed the jurors. “He encountered an innocent person who needed help, which put him in suspicious circumstances.”
Speiser acknowledged that Varela had been drinking and was intoxicated after spending the previous night at dive bars. She claimed that Varela tripped and fell on the pavement while leaving the bar, and then vomited on himself in his car before eventually driving home.
According to Speiser, Varela arrived home in a daze and discovered Nguyen’s unresponsive body across the street. Realizing that his father was present to assist and that they could call 911, Varela clumsily carried Nguyen towards their home.
“He has nothing to hide,” Speiser insisted. “He brought her from the darkness of the street to the light of the front yard.”
Both Varela’s father and his father’s girlfriend looked into Varela’s eyes and did not believe he was responsible for attacking Nguyen, according to Speiser. She added that neither of them noticed any signs of damaged or swollen knuckles on Varela.
Speiser pointed out that other individuals were present in the neighborhood during that early morning, including a man from the Czech Republic who was visiting from overseas at the time and an unidentified man seen walking in the area shortly before the police arrived.
If Varela is convicted as charged, he could face life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
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