Sione Vaomotou (36) appeared at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court this week charged with the stabbing murder of his wife Fotu'aika Vaomotou at Ma'ufanga in May 2009, on the day before she was due to give evidence against him for assault.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to murder at the start of his jury trial on Tuesday, July 20, before Mr Justice Shuster.

Crown Prosecutor 'Aminiasi Kefu told the court that the murder took place at around 5:00 am on May 21, 2009, at Fangaloto where the accused broke the window of a room where his wife was sleeping at her uncle's home. The accused reached in and grabbed the victim's mouth with one hand then stabbed her with the knife with the other, before fleeing. Fotu'aika, who was found severely wounded by her relatives the same morning, died shortly afterwards. The doctor's medical report found 23 stabbing wounds on the victim's body.

Assault

The chain of events leading to the murder took place after the victim left her husband because he assaulted her. She had even lodged a complaint with the police that resulted in a charge of assault for the accused. His trial was set to be called on May 22, 2009.

Unfortunately, she never made it to that day because her husband stabbed her to death on the morning of May 21, 2009.

Prior to the murder, the defendant had visited the wife at her uncle's home, to try and resolve their problems but she had rejected him and this angered him.

The couple who were married in Ha'apai in 2001 have two young children, a six year old girl and three year old boy.

The jury trial runs for the rest of the week with the Crown expected to call 14 witnesses to give evidence.