Dubai: A court will start hearing statements of prosecution witnesses on January 28 in the case of a British journalist who is accused of intentionally killing his wife with a hammer last July.
The hearing on Sunday was adjourned as the forensic doctor failed to appear in the court and suspect’s lawyer, Ali Abdullah Al Shamsi, asked the judge to adjourn the case to bring the assistant doctor who examined the body with the forensic doctor.
When the 61-year-old suspect, Francis Mathew, a former Gulf News staff member, appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance last month, he pleaded not guilty to intentionally killing his wife by hitting her forehead twice with a hammer following a heated argument over financial issues.
The incident allegedly happened around 7am on July 4, 2017 at the British couple’s villa in Umm Suqeim.
“The forensic doctor failed to attend the hearing as he resigned from his job some time back. We asked his assistant to come for testimony and case was adjourned to January 28,” Al Shamsi told Gulf News.
According to the charge sheet, prosecutors sought the death sentence for the suspect as per Article 332 of the UAE Penal Code.
Prosecutors said the Briton intentionally murdered his wife by striking her with the hammer following a heated argument at the couple’s house in Umm Suqeim.
