A British newspaper editor who was convicted of killing his 62-year old wife with a hammer in Dubai is reportedly appealing for his 10-year jail sentence to be reduced, according to the victim’s family.
In March, Francis Matthew, former editor of Gulf News, was found guilty of assault leading to death, after he struck his wife Jane Matthew with a hammer in their villa.
Matthew had originally told police that their home was broken into by robbers, who killed his wife. At a later interrogation, he confessed that the couple had a heated argument over finances. He also claimed his wife pushed him and called him a “loser”, after which he followed her into the bedroom and struck her twice on her head with a hammer, according to a police report.
The victim’s family said in a statement to media they were “very upset” that her husband was filing an appeal, and asked the court of appeal to overturn the original verdict for a harsher sentence.
“Jane’s family is very upset that Francis Matthew has appealed to further reduce his sentence after he killed Jane with a hammer. We want the court of appeal to overturn the original verdict. Women, in particular, should be deeply worried,” said the family.
“This verdict says that, just by having a common domestic argument with her husband, Jane was responsible for provoking her own death. The court’s finding is also deeply unfair to Jane because, while Matthew has apparently had his defence of provocation considered by the court, he has at the same time benefited from having ensured Jane couldn’t defend herself against his claims,” the statement added.
The family claimed that there was no way Matthew, who is over six feet tall, did not know he would kill Jane if he hit her with a hammer.
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