A man who had admitted to killing his wife and been sentenced to 31 years in jail, has had his jail term reduced by one year on appeal.
Roger Agius, 51, had stabbed his estranged wife, Catherine, with a butcher's knife on a Tarxien bus stop in 2010.
Mother-of-three Catherine Agius.He then walked calmly to the police station where he asked to wash his hands after killing his wife. He also asked for a cigarette and a cup of coffee.
In his appeal he said a 31-jail term was excessive, considering that he had filed a guilty plea.
The court, presided by Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri and judges David Scicluna and Joseph Zammit McKeon found that the maximum he could have been jailed for was 30 years and it reduced the term accordingly.
The court said, however, it was disturbed by the gravity of this case and the determined and violent way how Mr Agius had stabbed his wife with a 30cm knife which had gone through her.
In such cases, those responsible had to pay for their actions with an adequately harsh sentence.
The court said it wanted again to convey the message that such crime had to be severely punished. The sentence therefore, would be kept at the maximum permissible level.
Lawyers Veronique Dalli and Dean Hili appeared for Mr Agius.