Dubai ex-editor accused of wife's murder seeks mercy from court

He had been convicted of hacking his wife Jane to death with a hammer.

The defence lawyer of a Dubai-based former editor - convicted of hacking his 63-year-old wife to death with a hammer - requested the appellate court to grant mercy when it sentences his client later this month.
Lawyer Ali Al Shamsi said in court that his client, Francis Matthew, has been feeling "a great amount of remorse". "He committed the act in a moment of rage. It was the result of a verbal provocation rather than a deliberate act to hurt his wife. The whole thing has been tormenting him. He lost her (the victim), it affected the entire family and its stability and it cost him his career as well."
The 62-year-old Briton, who is in detention, was present during the hearing. He had been convicted of hacking his wife Jane to death with a hammer.
The lawyer requested the presiding judge to be lenient towards his client and reduce his jail sentence to two years since 2019 is being observed as the Year of Tolerance in the UAE.
The court will pronounce a verdict on November 27.
Earlier, Al Shamsi presented documents showing that the victim's father passed away and that her son had already relinquished his right to pursue the case against his father.
Previously, the same court had stiffened Mathew's jail term from 10 years to 15, when it modified the charge of assault resulting in his wife's death to premeditated murder. Last December, the Dubai Court of Cassation reversed the decision and referred the case back to the Court of Appeals for a retrial by a different panel of judges.
The case dates back to July 4, 2017, when the former editor called the police to report that his wife was killed by thieves who had broken into his villa in Umm Suqeim 1 while he was away.
He eventually confessed to the police that he had fatally assaulted his wife, following a heated argument.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai