Gulf Business: Former Gulf News editor sentenced to 10 years for killing wife

Gulf Business
Former Gulf News editor sentenced to 10 years for killing wife

The family of the deceased expressed disappointment at the verdict, and hope the sentence is changed on appeal
Staff Writer
Sunday 25 March 2018
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A Dubai court has sentenced Gulf News’s former editor-at-large to 10 years in prison for killing his wife with a hammer.

Francis Matthew, 61, was accused of fatally hitting his wife, Jane, twice on the head with a hammer at their home in Jumeirah on July 3 last year, killing her intentionally. He had pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder, and his lawyer Ali Al Shamsi had urged the court to amend the charge to one of physical assault that led to the victim’s death.

It was unclear under which charge the court found Matthew guilty, but he had originally faced the death penalty. Now he must serve 10 years in jail, followed by deportation.

The incident had taken place following an altercation and the home of Matthew and his wife in Umm Suqeim. Dubai Police said they were called to the home at 5.45pm On July 4, where they found Matthew’s 62-year-old wife of more than 30 years dead in bed with a severe head wound.

In court, police testified that Matthew initially claimed that he had found his wife dead following a robbery, but later confessed, telling police that his wife had grown angry with him after he told her they were in debt and needed to move to a smaller home. Matthew said his wife had provoked him, calling him a “loser” and telling him it was his responsibility to provide them with money, prompting him to take a hammer from the kitchen, follow his wife to the bedroom, and hit her twice on the head while she was lying in bed.

The court heard the testimonies of  four Emirati police officers, a Sri Lankan gardener and an Egyptian forensic expert before making its judgement, as well as listening to good character testimonies from Matthew’s son, brother and sister.



Jane Matthew’s family were in court for the ruling, and her brother Peter Manning issued a statement on their behalf expressing disappointment in the verdict and claiming that “justice has not yet been done”.

“We attended the Dubai Courts today, and our family has been saddened by the sentence given to Francis Matthew, Jane’s killer,” read the statement.

“We believe the facts clearly demonstrate that this crime was a deliberate act. In the defendant’s own version of events, he collected the murder weapon, a hammer, in the kitchen and carried it down two corridors of the house to the bedroom. There was time for him to consider his actions; instead he delivered two hammer blows to the front of Jane’s head. He made no attempt to call an ambulance afterwards.

“We also know, contrary to the defence’s argument, that Jane had been aware for months that the villa was due for demolition. The defendant has admitted that rows over money had occurred frequently for some time. Ongoing arguments, about money or a house, can arise in any marriage and cannot justify this killing.

“Jane was a loving wife, mother, daughter, sister and aunt. Losing her in such a brutal manner has left the family both bewildered and shocked.

“We feel that justice has not yet been done as we realise that the actual sentence served may be less than the 10 year sentence. We hope that this sentence is changed on appeal.”

The court ruling on Sunday is subject to appeal within a 15-day period.

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