Orem man's alleged abuse led to girlfriend's suicide, prosecutors say

PROVO — Rose Nguyen remembers her daughter as "a radiant soul, a devoted daughter, and a beacon of light to all who knew her."

"Rena had a future so full of promise, a future where she planned to serve, to heal, to make the world gentler and more humane," her mother said. "That future was stolen from her, and from all of us, in the most devastating way."

On Tuesday, Rose Nguyen and her husband, Keith Nguyen, traveled to Provo from their home in California for the continuation of a preliminary hearing for Caleb Aidan Rees, 30. Rees was Rena Nguyen's boyfriend and is charged with manslaughter in connection with her death; he also faces several weapons and drug-related charges.

Although Rena Nguyen died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, prosecutors allege that it was Rees' relentless abuse during their "tumultuous relationship" that drove Nguyen, 20, to take her own life. Charging documents say that Nguyen's "final hours were as troubled as her relationship" overall with Rees.

Audio evidence presented

During a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, Orem police officer Jeffery Randall, the lead investigator in the case, took the witness stand for 3½ hours answering questions from the prosecution. But it was audio recordings from Nguyen's own phone that left the biggest impression on the courtroom.

On Oct. 1, 2021, police were called to the residence where Rees and Nguyen lived on a report that Nguyen had shot herself. She was found in an upstairs bedroom with a gunshot wound to her head and was taken to a local hospital, where she died two days later. While collecting evidence, police found several recordings on Nguyen's phone.

Two of Nguyen's recordings were from the morning of the shooting. The last recording starts about 3:20 a.m. and continues for about 14 hours, Randall testified on Tuesday. The phone's audio recording app appears to have been started before the shooting and continued to record even afterward.

In the recordings, Nguyen is heard sobbing as Rees belittles her, accuses her of infidelity and calls her a "snitch" and a "liar" several times. He tells her in one recording that "he does not want her there anymore" and that she "wasted his time and ruined his life," according to charging documents.

Rees is heard singing at times as he appears to mock Nguyen, accusing her of calling the police about his alleged drug dealing. He is then heard calling his mother and asking her to help remove Nguyen from the home.

As Rees left the bedroom, he grabbed his loaded handgun and "moved it to a table next to the bedroom door as he walked out — thereby placing the loaded handgun directly in (Nguyen's) line of sight," according to charging documents.

"You hear rustling noises, then hear a sound consistent with a pistol being loaded, and I hear tapping sounds on the phone, as if someone is tapping the end of a microphone," Randall testified Tuesday.

"Immediately after (Rees) left the room, (Nguyen) got up, walked to the table, picked up the handgun, and shot herself in the head," the charges state.

As audio of the loud "bang" of the single shot was played in the courtroom, Rose Nguyen lowered her head and quietly sobbed into a tissue. Keith Nguyen had left the courtroom by the time the final recording was played.

Prosecutors argued in charging documents that Rees knew Rena Nguyen "had mental health issues and was suicidal," and he was aware "that mere hours before the shooting, (Nguyen) had texted her friend stating that she had just held a loaded gun to her head and said, 'I can't keep doing this. I want to live but not like this.'" The charges say that if not for Rees' actions, Nguyen "would not have died in this way and time."

In 2023, Keith and Rose Nguyen filed a civil lawsuit against Rees and the Orem Police Department, alleging that the investigation was mishandled. Rees was charged in Utah's 4th District Court in August.

A 'stand against domestic violence'

Prior to Tuesday's preliminary hearing, Rena Nguyen's parents delivered a statement outside the courthouse to both remember their daughter and bring awareness to reporting domestic violence. By sharing her story, Rena Nguyen's parents hope to "shine a light into the hidden places where domestic violence still thrives."

"The more we break the silence of domestic violence, the more we can save lives," Rose Nguyen said.

Rena Nguyen's parents urge others to look for the signs of domestic violence in other couples and ask hard questions when necessary.

"Turning a blind eye allows these tragedies to continue," Rose Nguyen said. "To those who bring harm and terror into others' lives, know this: Truth does not sleep, and justice, however delayed, does not forget. As we say in faith, 'wickedness never was happiness.'"

Because Rena Nguyen's parents live out of state, they say they didn't see the warning signs of domestic violence with Rees. They recalled on Tuesday how their daughter graduated at the top of her high school class and entered Brigham Young University at age 17.

"She was a gentle spirit with an extraordinary capacity for empathy, kindness and joy. She loved the natural world, found peace in music and left pieces of her heart in the art she created for her community," Rose Nguyen said.

The grieving mother added that her daughter "remained gentle," despite the domestic violence, and "kept her dream alive, even in the shadows of cruelty."

"Her absence is a silence that echoes in every room of our home, every corner of our community," she said. "It is the ache in our chests that will never leave. It is the promise unfulfilled, the future un-lived."

No family should ever feel this kind of heartbreak, she added.

"In her name, we stand against domestic violence. We ask that you do the same," Rose Nguyen said. "Our daughter was the best of us, and we will never stop telling the world who she was."

The preliminary hearing for Rees will continue on Thursday.

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