A court in Almaty has sentenced a former police officer convicted of murdering his common-law wife to 15 years in prison after he inflicted 39 stab wounds on her in front of their children, the website infohub.kz reports.
According to the KTK television channel, the court sent the convicted man to prison for 15 years. The couple was raising three children. The ex-police officer claimed he committed the crime in a state of passion and only realized what he had done while in hospital, but the court rejected his arguments, citing testimony from police officers.
The former law enforcement officer was found guilty of murder with particular cruelty. He was also ordered to pay the victim's family 10 million tenge in compensation for moral damages. The murdered woman's relatives said they were satisfied with the verdict.
"I am satisfied with the verdict, although I asked for life imprisonment, thank God, and I am grateful for this! Now let God punish him, may his children stay alive and well," one of the victim's relatives told journalists.
Recall that the brutal murder shocked Almaty a year and a half ago. According to investigators, an argument broke out between the spouses and ended in a stabbing. Media reported that the woman was the director of a kindergarten in the village of Uzynagash. Her husband worked at the Almaty Region Police Department but was dismissed on negative grounds. The couple was raising three children.
The final court hearing included closing arguments. The state prosecutor requested 18 years in prison for the defendant.