Manicurist and mom of 3 killed by customer who tried to leave without paying $35 bill

A mother of three was dragged by a vehicle and killed while attempting to stop a customer from leaving without paying for a $35 manicure, ...

A mother of three was dragged by a vehicle and killed while attempting to stop a customer from leaving without paying for a $35 manicure, according to her longtime boyfriend.

Nhu Nguyen, 53, who also had two grandchildren, was working at Crystal Nails & Spa in Las Vegas, which she owned with her boyfriend of 13 years, Sonny Chung, when a customer’s credit card was declined. The woman told Nguyen she would retrieve the cash from her vehicle but instead drove off in a black Chevrolet Camaro. Police report that it was a stolen rental car (though Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Ray Spencer told the Las Vegas Review Journal that the original renter of the car is not a suspect because the vehicle was reported stolen three weeks ago).

While the customer drove off, Nguyen grabbed onto the car’s rear window, which was broken out. However, the woman kept accelerating, according to Chung, who refers to the victim as his wife, despite never being officially married.

“My wife ran out and tried to stop her, and then she rolled forward,” Chung told the newspaper. “She kept pushing the gas, and my wife fell off, and she kept pushing more, and she dragged her from here to over there [roughly 50 feet away].”

“I tried to hold the car back, but I am not Superman,” Chung said. “She ran off for $35 and killed my wife — $35 to run my wife over.”

Nguyen was taken to a hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries, according to police.

On Saturday night, officers found the Camaro nearby at an apartment complex. However, as of Sunday, the driver remains unidentified. She is described as a white woman in her 20s.

According to Chung, Nguyen was a dedicated worker who never took a day off and would often spend up to 12 hours a day at their nail salon. Ruri Lee, an employee at another store in the strip mall where the salon was located, said that Nguyen was a “strong mother.”

Nguyen leaves behind three daughters, ages 20, 25 and 28, and two grandchildren, ages 4 and 6. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, the daughters, who live in California, were in town at the time to visit for the holidays.