Oulaykham Mona Chopheng was just 23 years old — a young woman described by prosecutors as “very beautiful,” with her life ahead of her — when it was violently cut short inside her own home.
On Tuesday, the man responsible for her death, her husband Talon Gabriel Mitchell, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter and unlawful use of a weapon.
But at the center of the case is not just a crime — it’s the story of a young woman whose life ended in a moment of confusion, fear, and irreversible violence.
Police were called to the couple’s apartment in Beaverton, Oregon, on Feb. 23, 2023, after Mitchell sent a series of alarming text messages to 911 dispatch.
“Help, HELP, IM STUCK IN A DREAM, INSANITY, HELP ME,” one message read. “I’m being controlled.”
Officers arrived and spent nearly 40 minutes outside the apartment, hearing movement inside but unable to get Mitchell to open the door. Concerned for the safety of anyone inside, they eventually entered.
What they found was devastating.
Chopheng was dead, fatally shot in the head, her body discovered on a couch inside the apartment.
According to investigators, Mitchell later claimed he had taken LSD earlier that day and blacked out. When he regained awareness, he said, he was sitting by the front door — and his wife was already dead.
Prosecutors say the reality was far more disturbing.
Washington County Sheriff’s Office via Beaverton Police Department
Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff MacLean said Mitchell had fallen into a drug-induced delusion, believing at one point that his wife was a “zombie” after consuming media about a supposed outbreak.
“It’s obviously a very sad circumstance,” MacLean said. “This is a very beautiful young woman whose life was taken way too soon.”
Authorities say Mitchell admitted to owning both a handgun and a shotgun, one of which was used in the killing.
He was arrested the following day.
Now, more than two years later, the case has reached its legal conclusion — but for Chopheng’s family, the loss remains permanent.
A judge also ordered Mitchell to pay $23,000 in restitution.
