Keltria
02-16-2005, 01:27 PM
America has The Death Penalty - We have weekend jail for murder
Wife 'programmed' to kill
16/02/2005 21:23 - (SA)
Johannesburg - The Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday convicted trauma unit nurse Anne-Marie Engelbrecht of murdering her husband by suffocating him with a plastic bag in June 2002.
Convicting Engelbrecht of murder as charged, but with diminished responsibility, Judge Kathy Satchwell rejected the notion that Engelbrecht had acted in a robotic state, but said she had rather "programmed herself for the murder".
Jaco Engelbrecht was suffocated with a plastic bag while he had his hands thumb-cuffed behind his back at the couple's Krugersdorp flat on June 29.
The court found that Engelbrecht had bought the thumb-cuffs on the day of the murder when sent by her husband to buy penis-enlarging cream from a sex shop.
Advocate Dirk Wetton for the defence had submitted that Engelbrecht had acted "in defence of herself and her child" - aged three at the time of the murder.
Husband watched blue movies
Her evidence during the trial was that their love turned sour because of his alcohol abuse, insane jealousy, womanising, physical and psychological abuse and unnatural sexual demands.
Engelbrecht claimed her husband would watch blue movies and then expect her to help him enact sexual fantasies.
On the day of the murder, fears that her husband might sexually abuse the child materialised. In December last year, Engelbrecht changed her guilty plea to not guilty on the grounds that she was not criminally liable for her actions due to stress and "battered wife syndrome".
The prosecution contended that the claim of being a battered wife was "a fabrication after the murder". Sentence was due to be handed down on Friday. The defence had called for a sentence of community service while the prosecution is seeking weekend jail.
Wife 'programmed' to kill
16/02/2005 21:23 - (SA)
Johannesburg - The Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday convicted trauma unit nurse Anne-Marie Engelbrecht of murdering her husband by suffocating him with a plastic bag in June 2002.
Convicting Engelbrecht of murder as charged, but with diminished responsibility, Judge Kathy Satchwell rejected the notion that Engelbrecht had acted in a robotic state, but said she had rather "programmed herself for the murder".
Jaco Engelbrecht was suffocated with a plastic bag while he had his hands thumb-cuffed behind his back at the couple's Krugersdorp flat on June 29.
The court found that Engelbrecht had bought the thumb-cuffs on the day of the murder when sent by her husband to buy penis-enlarging cream from a sex shop.
Advocate Dirk Wetton for the defence had submitted that Engelbrecht had acted "in defence of herself and her child" - aged three at the time of the murder.
Husband watched blue movies
Her evidence during the trial was that their love turned sour because of his alcohol abuse, insane jealousy, womanising, physical and psychological abuse and unnatural sexual demands.
Engelbrecht claimed her husband would watch blue movies and then expect her to help him enact sexual fantasies.
On the day of the murder, fears that her husband might sexually abuse the child materialised. In December last year, Engelbrecht changed her guilty plea to not guilty on the grounds that she was not criminally liable for her actions due to stress and "battered wife syndrome".
The prosecution contended that the claim of being a battered wife was "a fabrication after the murder". Sentence was due to be handed down on Friday. The defence had called for a sentence of community service while the prosecution is seeking weekend jail.