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A man has been convicted at a retrial of murdering his wife and been sentenced to life in prison.
Laxman Rajamani, a 36-year-old accountant, was found guilty by a jury in the High Court at Auckland in June of murdering Chitralekha Ramakrishnan at their home in Mt Eden, Auckland, on January 13, 2005.
Rajamani had been found guilty by a High Court jury in 2006 but the Supreme Court last year quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial.
Rajamani admitted he killed his wife but said he was provoked into doing so and was guilty instead of manslaughter.
The Crown argued that Rajamani's actions clearly met the threshold of murder and that the provocation defence did not apply.
The Crown said Rajamani, who was upset his wife wanted to end their relationship, bashed her over the head with a brick before slashing her throat in the kitchen of their home.
Justice Judith Potter said today the court should not impose a heavier sentence than previously imposed unless good reason was shown.
Justice Potter sentenced Rajamani, after referring to written submissions by the crown and defence, to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole term of 12 years.
Rajamani showed no emotion as he was sentenced.
- NZPA
