Durban - A man convicted of murdering his former partner by stamping on her neck was sentenced to 15 years in jail in the Durban High Court on Friday, the National Prosecuting Authority said.
Nick Longano, 42, was found guilty of murdering Vinoba Vanandri Naidoo in 2010, KwaZulu-Natal NPA spokeswoman Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said in a statement.
“Mr Longano and Ms Naidoo were involved in a relationship but were separated and in the process of selling their flat when the incident occurred.
“They were together in the flat when the accused assaulted the deceased and suffocated her by tramping on her neck with his booted foot.”
Longano maintained a defence of sane automatism, claiming that he was in an altered state of mind at the time of the killing due to antidepressant medication he was taking.
“He said that on that day he was physically depleted and this, combined with the medication, caused him to snap.”
Two police officers, who were first on the scene, testified that Longano claimed Naidoo had attacked him with a candlestick and that he retaliated.
An estate agent who visited the flat before the murder testified that Longano was perfectly coherent when they spoke.
“Advocate Moosa also led the evidence of a footprint expert who stated that the marks on the neck of the deceased showed that the accused had stepped on her neck, lifted his foot and placed it back on again, thus showing intent,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
Longano was granted leave to appeal against his sentence and conviction and was granted bail of R5000 pending appeal.
Sapa