9 YEARS FOR WIFE KILLER
The High Court has sentenced a young man who killed his pregnant wife with an axe at Gilbert Camp East Honiara in May 2012, to nine years in jail.
The man was 17 and his young wife was 19 years old at the time.
Police arrested him and charged him with one count of murder.
He pleaded guilty to the charge and was convicted in December last year.
Sentencing the man this morning, Judge Stephen Pallaras says he had wantonly and viciously taken a young life.
Judge Pallaras said at 19 years of age ,the deceased had barely began her life and she had many years to look forward to adding, the accused had deprived her of that life.
He adds, her family has also been deprived of the joy of watching her grow into a woman, and possibly a mother.
He said the accused had used an axe to savagely break her skull with such an intensity that clearly meant to kill her.
The post mortem report described injuries to her face, neck, upper limbs, abdomen, lower limbs and on the palms of both hands.
Judge Pallaras also reminded the accused that he was only a few months away from his 18th birthday when he killed his wife and if he had turned 18, he would be serving a life-time imprisonment.