Don’t send me to jail, pleads husband who admitted to slitting bedridden wife's throat

Nundkumaran Poonusamy Pillay. Picture: Supplied

Nundkumaran Poonusamy Pillay. Picture: Supplied

Published May 3, 2019

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Durban - After pleading guilty to killing his bedridden wife after she begged him to end her suffering, a Phoenix grandfather is praying he will not be sent to jail.

In an exclusive interview with POST shortly after his plea, Nundkumaran Poonusamy Pillay, 64, said he had spent the past 16 days in custody at the Phoenix police station praying for forgiveness as he awaited his fate.

Fighting back tears, Pillay said he felt terrible about killing his wife, Dhunalutchmee, 69. “My wife pleaded with me to kill her and I did it because I loved her. I regret killing her. My time in custody has helped me reflect on my actions.”

He said he was praying for a suspended sentence.

“I want to walk free. I know what I did was wrong but I am praying the court looks at the reasons why I committed the crime and set me free. After killing my wife, I went straight to the police. I never hid from the law.”

Pillay said he was scared of going to prison. “I may get a life sentence because of the seriousness of the crime. I know I will not survive. I will commit suicide if I have to face jail time because I consider myself a dead man in jail.”

If released, Pillay said he would live with his daughter-in-law.

“She is the only one standing by my side and has supported me throughout the case. I don’t know where my daughter is. I don’t know if she knows what happened.”

Pillay said he wanted people to know he was remorseful for his actions.

“I want people to know that I am sorry. I did it out of love. Only I know what I experienced with my wife. I cared for her, cleaned her when she messed herself, and I aided her to the toilet. I cannot eat or sleep. She is always on my mind. I miss her dearly. I don’t know why I had listened to her. My fate is now in God’s hands.”

Pillay’s sentencing is expected to take place next week.

On April 8, after failing to suffocate his wife, Pillay, stabbed her once in the throat.

The couple had been living together for 45 years and did not marry because of their financial circumstances.

They had two children, a son who died of cancer and a daughter who he has not been seen or heard from since January.

In his plea statement handed to Judge Shyam Gyanda in the Durban High Court, Pillay said he had failed at his first attempt to kill his wife.

“I didn’t have enough strength and she pushed me off. My wife was a large woman. She told me she did not want to die like that. She told me it would be better if I stabbed her and finished her. She begged me to end her suffering. She was crying. I was crying too.”

Pillay said he fetched the knife and stabbed her once in her throat.

“I never slit her throat. I stayed with her, holding her hand until she took her last breath. I cried as I watched her pass away.

“After she passed, I kissed her on her forehead and I told her that I loved her. I told her that I will see her soon.”

Sentencing is expected next month.

POST

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