Wife killer's brutality 'unsurpassed'
A man who shattered his wife's skull and pelvis in a jealous rage has been sent to prison for 25 years.
JANA-MARI SMITH
WINDHOEK
High Court Judge Naomi Shivute has described Andries Hermanus Johannes Scott's brutal trampling to death of his wife, Anna Scott, in August 2017 as one of the worst domestic violence cases the court has ever heard.
“This act of brutality is unsurpassed in comparison to cases handled by this court in the recent past. It is hardly imaginable that a husband could assault his wife the way the accused did,” Shivute said when she sentenced the wife killer to 25 years in prison last week.
The victim's pelvis and skull were shattered in the attack.
Scott (56) was arrested in August 2017 after his wife's body was found wrapped in blankets and lying on a mattress in their homestead on a farm near Kalkrand after a drunken fight revolving around Anna Scott's alleged affairs with other men.
Scott had alerted family that he was going to commit suicide a day after the murder took place, which led to his arrest and the discovery of his wife's severely abused body.
In May this year Shivute convicted Scott of murder.
Troubled relationship
The couple had been married for 21 years, and witnesses said the partnership was fraught with domestic abuse.
During the trial, Dr Andries Petrus Vermeulen told the court that the post-mortem examination of Anna Scott found extensive soft-tissue trauma, mainly in the pelvis area, and subdural bleeding on the right occipital area of her head with swelling of the brain.
The cause of death was severe soft tissue trauma caused by a blunt object. He told the court that such injuries would have required considerable force and multiple blows.
Deadly
The murder took place sometime between 2 and 3 August 2017 at Farm Houmoed in the district of Mariental, near Kalkrand.
Witnesses testified that shortly before the murder, husband and wife visited an acquaintance in Kalkrand and drank alcohol.
The next day, when Scott was asked about the whereabouts of his wife, he told witnesses that she was “lying down suffering from a headache”.
During his testimony, Scott claimed he had not intended to kill his wife.
He told the court that they had four children, but one of them was not his.
He claimed that his wife, shortly before the deadly assault, had told him she was sleeping with other men and had allegedly said “it was her body and she could do as she pleased with it”.
He testified that at this stage, he became furious and he grabbed her, tossed her onto the floor and began trampling her.
Afterwards, he left her body lying on the floor, claiming that she was still alive. He claims that when he woke up the next day she was “still moving and she was feeling cold”, so he placed her on the mattress and wrapped her in a blanket.
He then left the homestead and when he returned later that day, he realised she was no longer breathing. He did not report her death.
The next day he said he decided to commit suicide, and alerted family, who then contacted the police.
During the trial, Scott initially pleaded not guilty and denied any knowledge of the circumstances of his wife's death. However, during his own testimony, he admitted that he had assaulted his wife, but denied intentionally killing her.
WINDHOEK
High Court Judge Naomi Shivute has described Andries Hermanus Johannes Scott's brutal trampling to death of his wife, Anna Scott, in August 2017 as one of the worst domestic violence cases the court has ever heard.
“This act of brutality is unsurpassed in comparison to cases handled by this court in the recent past. It is hardly imaginable that a husband could assault his wife the way the accused did,” Shivute said when she sentenced the wife killer to 25 years in prison last week.
The victim's pelvis and skull were shattered in the attack.
Scott (56) was arrested in August 2017 after his wife's body was found wrapped in blankets and lying on a mattress in their homestead on a farm near Kalkrand after a drunken fight revolving around Anna Scott's alleged affairs with other men.
Scott had alerted family that he was going to commit suicide a day after the murder took place, which led to his arrest and the discovery of his wife's severely abused body.
In May this year Shivute convicted Scott of murder.
Troubled relationship
The couple had been married for 21 years, and witnesses said the partnership was fraught with domestic abuse.
During the trial, Dr Andries Petrus Vermeulen told the court that the post-mortem examination of Anna Scott found extensive soft-tissue trauma, mainly in the pelvis area, and subdural bleeding on the right occipital area of her head with swelling of the brain.
The cause of death was severe soft tissue trauma caused by a blunt object. He told the court that such injuries would have required considerable force and multiple blows.
Deadly
The murder took place sometime between 2 and 3 August 2017 at Farm Houmoed in the district of Mariental, near Kalkrand.
Witnesses testified that shortly before the murder, husband and wife visited an acquaintance in Kalkrand and drank alcohol.
The next day, when Scott was asked about the whereabouts of his wife, he told witnesses that she was “lying down suffering from a headache”.
During his testimony, Scott claimed he had not intended to kill his wife.
He told the court that they had four children, but one of them was not his.
He claimed that his wife, shortly before the deadly assault, had told him she was sleeping with other men and had allegedly said “it was her body and she could do as she pleased with it”.
He testified that at this stage, he became furious and he grabbed her, tossed her onto the floor and began trampling her.
Afterwards, he left her body lying on the floor, claiming that she was still alive. He claims that when he woke up the next day she was “still moving and she was feeling cold”, so he placed her on the mattress and wrapped her in a blanket.
He then left the homestead and when he returned later that day, he realised she was no longer breathing. He did not report her death.
The next day he said he decided to commit suicide, and alerted family, who then contacted the police.
During the trial, Scott initially pleaded not guilty and denied any knowledge of the circumstances of his wife's death. However, during his own testimony, he admitted that he had assaulted his wife, but denied intentionally killing her.
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