Win Min Htut knew exactly what he was doing when he pleaded guilty to killing his wife in front of their children in West Bethlehem, a state Superior Court ruling says.
Htut, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for second-degree murder in 2014 in Lehigh County Court, gave up his rights to appeal the sentence as part of the plea deal. In exchange, prosecutors withdrew their pursuit of the death penalty in the case.
The 40-year-old, who came to America in 2004 from Myanmar, claimed in court documents filed last year that he did not understand he was giving up his rights to appeal because English is not his native language.
But the state Superior Court in a ruling filed Monday called Htut’s English proficiency argument bogus, upholding a previous Lehigh County Court ruling.
The lower court’s ruling notes that Htut’s attorney described his client as “well-versed in the English language, and throughout his representation of Htut, their dialogue was in English.”
Htut is currently serving his life sentence in the State Correctional Institution in Fayette. He is not eligible for parole.
Htut fatally shot his wife, 37-year-old Thida Myint, on Dec. 17, 2013, in front of their home in the 300 block of Central Park Avenue.
The shooting, witnessed by their three children, happened the same day Myint was granted a permanent protection-from-abuse order against Htut.
3 children saw father shoot mother, DA says
The eldest child, a daughter who was 16 at the time, called 911 to report the shooting, saying, “My dad shot my mom and took my 3-year-old sister,” according to court records.
The 16-year-old daughter wrote a letter read in court during Htut’s guilty plea that cast her father as controlling and abusive to such a degree that the family felt like prisoners in the home.
The Superior Court, in its ruling issued Monday, also dismissed a claim that Htut had ineffective legal representation when he pleaded guilty.
Nick Falsone may be reached at nfalsone@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickfalsone. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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