January 31-2014
An Iranian immigrant has been sentenced to life imprisonment in Scotland for brutally murdering his wife in a frenzied knife attack in Glasgow.
Abbas Nikabady, 44, was convicted of stabbing 43-year-old Fatemeh Bostani 29 times at their home last June.
The High Court in Glasgow heard how Nikabady used such force that two knives were left broken in the body of his wife of 22 years.
Under Scottish law, he must serve 18 years in prison before he can even apply for parole.
Nikabady and his wife, both immigrants from Iran, had two sons together.
The jury was told that the husband was extremely jealous of his wife and would monitor her movements.
The attack took place in the kitchen of the family home after they had returned from being out shopping.
Afterward Nikabady walked to a nearby police station and said: “I’ve killed my wife.” The court was told he also said: “I brought out her heart.”
During the trial, defense attorney Donald Finlay argued his client was suffering from a mental disorder. But the jury rejected that argument and convicted Nikabady of murder.
Judge Norman Ritchie said: “The ferocity of your attack was shocking. Two knives were broken on her body and it was thought you also wielded another larger one. It was a terrifying end to her life to be attacked in her own home by the man whom she loved, honored and obeyed.
“Your thoughts about your wife seem to be the product only of your fears and anxiety. You had a morbid obsession with monitoring her every move, despite her devotion to you. You restricted and prevented contact with her family and those who wished to be her friends. You made the last years of her life unhappy.
“You took her life and have left your two sons without a mother. You exhibit little if any remorse and have continued to blame your wife.”
Following the sentence, John Dunn, procurator fiscal for the west of Scotland, said: “This was a sad crime of a husband murdering his wife. But Nikabady was conscious of his guilt and tried unsuccessfully to conceal his crime by disposing of the murder weapon.”