Killing of Nguyễn Xuân Đạt
The killing of Nguyễn Xuân Đạt, known outside of Vietnam as "the Vietnamese Butcher case", is a consensual murder and dismemberment case that occurred on 25 January 2025, in Lạng Sơn, Vietnam. The case gained traction in late July of the same year, when videos and images of the murder began circulating on shock sites, Telegram, and other encrypted messaging apps.
The Vietnamese Butcher videos are the first known commercially-intended recordings of a real murder—commonly called a snuff film—as they were sold on the dark web and Telegram groups at least since February 2025.
The murder suspect, former Vietnamese government official Đoàn Văn Sáng, was identified by internet users. The alleged evidence against him was published online in the 88-page document, which the Vietnamese government had discouraged the public from downloading. In November 2025, following both international and local outrage, the Ministry of [Public Security (Vietnam)|Vietnam Ministry of Public Security] and the Lạng Sơn Provincial Police arrested Sáng and charged him with murder. If convicted, he may face life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Content
On 26 July 2025, 11 videos and 98 images of what later became known as "the Vietnamese Butcher" began circulating on Telegram and other encrypted messaging apps. It was eventually leaked through gore sites and other platforms with an extended version. It was described by Vice as the first authentic snuff film.The videos, which are recorded from multiple angles, show a naked male adult, who was later identified as Nguyễn Xuân Đạt, lying on his back, with his head lying on a cutting board while masturbating on a bathroom floor. At the moment of orgasm, the assailant, later identified as Đoàn Văn Sáng, decapitates Đạt with a cleaver. The rest of the footage included Đạt's dismemberment, the assailant holding the victim's decapitated head with a face mask on, and the victim's internal organs being cooked, indicating potential vorarephillia or cannibalism.
Prior to the murder, another recorded longer video had shown the "rehearsal" between the two persons. In the video, Sáng is shown wearing Adidas clothing and a Guy Fawkes mask, placing his cleaver on Đạt's neck, before later hugging Đạt and ending the video.
Investigations
Online investigations
Before an official conclusion, many online Vietnamese investigators proceeded OSINT and forensic investigations aimed to gain further information about the case. Through floor tiles and household items present in The Vietnamese Butcher, they concluded that both the victim and assailant were Vietnamese, and the place of murder was either near the China–Vietnam border or the Cambodia–Vietnam border, though the former is more supported. Initial suspicions towards a Buddhist who was claimed to have interacted with the victim was dropped after they had denied involvement.The victim was identified as Nguyễn Xuân Đạt, born on 10 March 1989, in Đông Hưng, Thái Bình. According to his family, Đạt's mother had mental health problems, he was raised in Hanoi, and worked as a fishmonger at Phùng Khoang market. He had often expressed his wish to be decapitated since at least 2022. Additionally, Đạt had made a comment on a website asking someone for a Vietnamese translation of the ero guro manga Applicant for Death by that shared similarities with Đạt's death, notably details related to guillotines, consensual homicide, and speaking decapitated heads.
After the murder, his Facebook account was taken control of and was locked down.
On 23 November 2025, an 88-page summary, often referred to as "the 88-page document" compiling information about the case was published on Facebook. The document contained speculative theories and information on the victim, the crime scene and had also provided suspicions regarding the possibility of Đoàn Văn Sáng being the assailant, based on the correlations between the assailant's and Sáng's bodily characteristics, activities, and contact.
Official investigation
An official notice on 3 October 2025 from the Ministry of Public Security said that the official investigation of the case began after their "observations of the online space".On 28 November 2025, the Ministry of Public Security and the Lạng Sơn Provincial Police arrested Đoàn Văn Sáng on charges of the murder of Nguyễn Xuân Đạt. According to Sáng's confessions, Sáng and Đạt first knew each other through social media in 2020. On 25 January 2025, after contacting via phone, Đạt entered Sáng's workplace at the office of the Market Surveillance Unit No. 4, which was vacant due to Lunar New Year celebrations, and was killed consequently.
On 10 December 2025, the Ministry of Public Security recommended the Lạng Sơn Provincial Police to expand investigations and obtain further evidence. The investigation is ongoing.
Media coverage
Ben Ditto of Vice wrote a report on the Vietnamese Butcher case, and claiming that the report was the first by a major news outlet. After the release of the 88-page document and Sáng's subsequent arrest, the case had gained significant traction within Vietnamese media, with articles published by VnExpress, Thanh Niên, and VietNamNet.According to Sin Chew Daily, due to the Vietnamese police not initially publicizing any information, netizens had participated in the investigation and eventually published a compilation of evidence at the end of November 2025, finding Đoàn Văn Sáng to be the assailant, as well as speculating on where the crime scene was. Hong Kong's HK01 reported that the original Facebook group did "significant work" regarding the identification of the assailant and the murder site.
The Hưng Yên Provincial Police has discouraged people from downloading or accessing the original documents, due to "malware concerns".