by STAFF WRITER
Antigua, Oct 12, CMC – A High Court judge has set November 21 as the date for sentencing Italian-born civil engineer, 76-year-old Umberto Schenato, who was found guilty on Tuesday of murdering his former wife three years ago.
The 12-member jury took over two hours to reach the verdict after a trial that lasted a week.
Umberto Schenato (Photo courtesy Antigua Observer)
The court heard that Schenato stabbed his wife of 18 years, Edda, multiple times in a parking lot at a supermarket here on June 3, 2013.
Justice Darshan Ramdhani has given November 8 as the deadline for the submission of a psychiatric report and Social Inquiry Report before passing sentence four days later.
During the trial, defence attorney Lawrence Daniels had argued that his client had no intention of killing his ex-wife, suggesting that he had been provoked into given the fact that the couple had been engaged in an eight year long civil court case over the division of their property following their divorce.
He said Schenato was angry because his ex-wife, who was in her 70s, had been evasive and arrogant when asked whether she would have attended court on June 4, 2013 for trial to settle the case.
The attorney said he would make co comment until sentencing, but acknowledged that his client was stunned by the verdict.
Director of Public Prosecutions Anthony Armstrong said the jury rejected Daniels’ suggestion of provocation and had urged them to pay keen attention to the incidents leading up to the murder.
He said a few hours before the murder, Umberto had said he wished she was dead.
