A former social media pioneer has received a life prison sentence for shooting and killing his ex-wife's new husband.
Minh Nguyen, 39, broke into the Ashburn, Virginia home of his ex-wife Denise Mattison in January last year and shot her husband Corey four times.
Before he died, Mattison led Nguyen away from the couple's children, prompting his wife to hail him as a hero afterwards.
Testimony said Nguyen, who said he co-founded the social network Plaxo with Sean Parker in 2002, had become enraged after learning Mattison cared for two of his three children with his ex-wife,
NBC reported.
Nguyen had a 'desire and obsession to control his ex-wife and her new family', prosecutors said.
Mrs Mattison, who was picking up her oldest daughter from school when Nguyen stormed her house, was pregnant at the time of the attack and had married her late husband three months before.
She gave birth to her youngest child with Mattison, a baby named Corey, in September last year, NBC wrote.
'There are no winners here today,' she told the network after Nguyen's sentencing. 'We're all losers. We came here without Corey and we go home without him. I just hope there will be some healing taking place on both sides. That's all I can ask for, pray for.'
Nguyen had previously pleaded no contest to murder, malicious wounding, and breaking and entering.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for Loudoun County Joshua Steward criticized this decision.
'In a guilty plea, you stand up and you recognize morally, if nothing else, "Yes, I am guilty, I did this and I deserve to be punished,"' Steward said according to NBC. 'No contest, you're essentially just saying, "Listen, I know if I went to trial I'd lose."'
Judge McCahill went above the recommended 25-42 years for Nguyen and sentenced him to life in prison, ruling that he still posed a threat to Mrs Mattison and her family.
'This was probably the most satisfying moment of his life,' Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jason Faw said about Nguyen and the attack. 'He had all the power. This was everything he had ever fantasized about. This was his dream and he lived it.'
Judge McCahill told Nguyen he still posed a potential danger to Mattison and her family, sentencing him to the life term, far above the recommended guideline of 25-42 years.
Mrs Mattison had previously told
ABC that when her ex broke into her home with a gun, her husband Corey lured him out of the back door and away from their children.
Mrs Mattison said that her daughter, Madison, 14, and a younger sibling were able to escape and hide out in the bathroom to call the police.
She told the network at the time: 'He was my knight in shining armor... he literally laid his life down to save me.'
The couple lived together with their five children - Mrs Mattison's three children from her marriage to Nguyen and Mr Mattison's two children from a previous relationship.
Two of Nguyen's three children with his ex-wife were present at the time of the shooting, police said.
Denise walked in with her third child during the attack, according to a report from the Londoun County Sheriff's Office.
Nobody else was injured in the attack.
Nguyen was arrested without incident after being captured by his mother, who held him down and called the police,
NBC reported.
Officers found the mother and son struggling over his gun.
Mattison, who had two elementary-school-aged children of his own, was a project manager at a glass construction company based in Washington, DC,
WPBF reported.