Woman Dies After Being Struck at Home

An 89-year-old Fountain Valley woman was allegedly beaten by her son, left semiconscious on a kitchen floor flooded with cold water for hours and later died, Fountain Valley police said Thursday.

Authorities have launched an investigation but still are not sure whether the beating caused the death of Chinh Thi Nguyen. Police took into custody her 49-year-old son, Long Thanh Nguyen, for a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation. He has not been charged in his mother’s death.

Fountain Valley Police Sgt. Jim Perry said the son struck his mother Wednesday during an argument.

“We’re trying to figure out what prompted it,” he said. “Based on the information obtained from the suspect, there was a determination that there needed to be a psychological evaluation.”

Perry would not elaborate but said Long Thanh Nguyen has not been in trouble with the department before.

When the mental health evaluation and an autopsy are complete, police will determine whether to pursue criminal charges, Perry said.

Police believe that the mother was sitting in a kitchen chair when her son balled up his fist and punched her directly in the face. Police are uncertain what time the attack occurred.

The victim then fell backward in her chair and hit her head against the ceramic tile floor, where she lapsed in and out of consciousness, police said.

“We’re not sure how long she was lying there in a semiconscious state,” Perry said.

At the same time, a toilet in a nearby bathroom overflowed for an unknown reason and flooded the kitchen floor where Chinh Thi Nguyen remained until another of her sons returned to the home.

She was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where she died of an apparent heart attack around 11:20 p.m.