The injuries suffered by the deceased, Dapeua Helen Onesmus (43), on 16 February 2024 in the district of Windhoek, speak of a frenzy of violence, stated Acting Judge Marilize du Plessis yesterday.
She said whether the accused was a peaceful man before and after this incident does not detract from the fact that he stabbed his wife 27 times on the day of the incident, and that he did so despite her cries to stop.
The judge was reading the sentencing judgement into the record of accused Robertho Marlo McNab (38) in the Windhoek Prison Court. McNab faced one count of housebreaking with intent to murder and murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act.
The charge was in connection with the death of Onesmus, who had been married to McNab since July 2022 but became estranged in 2023.
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The judge stated that the photo plan of the crime scene and postmortem completed the picture of what transpired that day.
The deceased was found lying in her garage in a pool of blood.
Three blood-stained knives and a pair of scissors were found at the scene. The postmortem reported 27 stab wounds, concentrated around the face, neck and chest of the deceased.
The wounds of the chest penetrated the right lung and led to hypovolemic shock.
She stated that the offence McNab was convicted of did not only fall within the realm of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act, but it was also "an act of unbridled and horrific violence".
In considering the sentence, she stated that the clear and unequivocal message, which should resonate from the courts in Namibia, is that crimes involving domestic violence will not be tolerated, and that sentences will be appropriately severe.
"The deceased, who simply wanted to end a marriage in which she was clearly deeply unhappy, begged for her life to no avail," she added.
She said the fact that a 14-year-old boy, the son of the deceased, was present in the house when the act occurred, and that he is left without the care and love of his mother, is further taken as an aggravating factor.
She then sentenced McNab to life imprisonment for the charge.
Primarily, the matter stems from the fact that, on 14 February 2024, two days before the incident, the accused, who was in Usakos at the time, was served with a combined summons depicting that the deceased had instituted divorce proceedings against him.
In Onesmus's particular of claim, she stated that "she did not receive any love or affection from the accused, that the accused failed to meaningfully communicate with her and that he abused alcohol".
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On 16 February 2024, McNab travelled to Windhoek to pick up some of his property at the deceased's flat in Rocky Crest, where the deceased lived alone with her son (14), born from a previous relationship.
The accused admitted that, by July 2023, the marriage was on the rocks, and that they had separated and no longer shared a residence.
He told a neighbour, who was a witness in the matter, whom he visited when he arrived in Windhoek, that the deceased's garage door was unlocked, and that he would enter through it into the residence.
The neighbour saw McNab opening the garage door and closing it behind him.
In the evening, the neighbour heard the deceased screaming, "Please stop," but he could not enter the house since the doors were locked.
Eventually, the screams stopped, and the neighbour managed to look over the backyard wall, where he saw the deceased lying in a pool of blood.
The neighbour of the deceased and the deceased's aunt confirmed that the accused did not display any signs of violence prior to the incident.
After stabbing the deceased, the accused attempted to commit suicide through a self-inflicted wound to the throat.
The judge lamented that severe sentences have become a norm by the court to combat the epidemic proportions of gender-based violence against women, but despite the effort, there seems to be no respite to the ongoing slaughter.
