Wife wrongfully accused in husband's death tries to clear her name

A woman accused of killing her husband is now trying to clear her name after the charges against her were dropped.  Tu Thien Huynh was charged, arrested and thrown in jail accused of killing her husband until the Medical Examiner's Office ruled Steven Hafer's death a suicide.

“In the middle of a terrifying and heartbreaking nightmare,” Huynh described the last two months.  Even more horrifying?  The worst time of her life has played out in public.  Her mugshot was broadcast after she was arrested, and video of Huynh handcuffed, shackled and crying uncontrollably in her first court appearance aired on the news.

”My reputation in the community with friends and colleagues was destroyed.  In the middle of all of this I was fired from my job, leaving me worried a lot about how I was going to care for my daughter,” Huynh explains.  She is trying to restore her ruined reputation after the Harris County District Attorney's Office dropped the charge against her following the Medical Examiner ruling Hafer's death a suicide.

Huynh found her husband shot to death in their Houston home on February 2, 2017 and was arrested that day.  ”From the very beginning I was attacked left and right.  I was falsely accused of the most heinous act.  I was not allowed to mourn Steven's passing.  I was torn from my daughter who had just lost her father.”

The DA's office released a statement saying in part, “Investigators make tough decisions at crime scenes.  After further review of the evidence…(the) charge has been dismissed.  Whatever first impressions may be, ultimately decisions are based on the evidence”.

”I was subjected to outside expectations of how my reactions and expressions should look, as a result I was called heartless and unfeeling simply because I was in shock,” explains Huynh.

The 29-year-old says she knew her husband was in pain but had no idea the extent, and she says she had no clue an innocent person could be so easily accused, in turn losing so much. 

”I feel completely lost right now,” Huynh said.

Huynh's attorney says they haven't yet decided if they will file a lawsuit.