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British expat faces death sentence for husband’s murder
| Published: | 2 Nov at 6 PM |
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A British expat woman in Malaysia has been charged with murdering her husband and is facing a death sentence.
Samantha Jones and her husband John had been living on the Malaysian island of Langkawi for 11 years, having arrived under the Southeast Asian country’s ‘My Second Home’ immigration scheme. The couple had first visited the island in 2002, and Samantha had fallen in love with the laid-back lifestyle and relaxed atmosphere. They’d always dreamed of leaving the UK, and decided Langkawi was the perfect place for an early retirement.
However, media reports after John’s body was found and his wife arrested for murder suggest the marriage wasn’t all it seemed to outsiders. Apparently, after she was arrested for his murder, Samantha told local police she’d killed her husband in self-defence after suffering years of violence and domestic abuse. Just before the murder, the couple were in an angry argument, culminating in Samantha getting a knife from the kitchen and stabbing him in the chest. The knife and bloodstains were found along with John’s body in the bedroom.
Samantha has now appeared in court, but has not yet given her side of the story and the case has now been referred to a higher court hearing on November 29. Her lawyer told reporters his client is still ‘very, very overwhelmed’ by what happened, and is grieving for the death of her husband despite the circumstances of his death. Should she be found guilty of the murder, Malaysia’s mandatory death penalty will apply and she will be hanged, unless the Malaysia government votes to abolish the death penalty before her sentence is carried out. The country’s new government has pledged to scrap the punishment, but lawmakers have yet to vote on the changes.
Samantha Jones and her husband John had been living on the Malaysian island of Langkawi for 11 years, having arrived under the Southeast Asian country’s ‘My Second Home’ immigration scheme. The couple had first visited the island in 2002, and Samantha had fallen in love with the laid-back lifestyle and relaxed atmosphere. They’d always dreamed of leaving the UK, and decided Langkawi was the perfect place for an early retirement.
However, media reports after John’s body was found and his wife arrested for murder suggest the marriage wasn’t all it seemed to outsiders. Apparently, after she was arrested for his murder, Samantha told local police she’d killed her husband in self-defence after suffering years of violence and domestic abuse. Just before the murder, the couple were in an angry argument, culminating in Samantha getting a knife from the kitchen and stabbing him in the chest. The knife and bloodstains were found along with John’s body in the bedroom.
Samantha has now appeared in court, but has not yet given her side of the story and the case has now been referred to a higher court hearing on November 29. Her lawyer told reporters his client is still ‘very, very overwhelmed’ by what happened, and is grieving for the death of her husband despite the circumstances of his death. Should she be found guilty of the murder, Malaysia’s mandatory death penalty will apply and she will be hanged, unless the Malaysia government votes to abolish the death penalty before her sentence is carried out. The country’s new government has pledged to scrap the punishment, but lawmakers have yet to vote on the changes.
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