Maria Amakali
WINDHOEK – The case of murder convict Anthea Arnold got postponed to give ample time to her new defense attorney to learn the facts surrounding the case.
Arnold, 32, remained without an attorney after her defense attorney Mbanga Siyomunji withdrew from the case because of conflicting instructions.
Arnold, who is now represented by state funded lawyer Norman Tjombe, was convicted of murder with direct intent in October 2017 for the death of her German married ex-lover Michael Breder, 52.
Breder died from a gunshot wound to the back fired at close range while seated in a car in Windhoek’s Southern Industrial Area during the night of May 14 to 15, 2011.
The case was on the court roll for a pre-sentencing hearing but Tjombe asked for time to catch up on the merits of the case so he can be in a better position to represent Arnold. The court postponed the pre-sentencing hearing to July 19.
Arnold has been begging the court to sentence her, citing that she wants to start serving her time so that she can come out and be a mother to her child.
Although during the trial Arnold denied guilt saying she acted in self-defense on the night of the fatal shooting, she confessed to the shooting after her conviction in a statement. In her statement, she said she killed the deceased because he infected her with an illness and she was the author of the piece of paper that was found at the crime scene. The police found a hand-written note giving reasons for the shooting which Arnold has disputed during her trial. Having been convicted of murder in the Regional Court, Arnold approached the High Court to challenge the conviction. However, Arnold later on indicated she fully agreed with the conviction, thus she then withdrew her appeal indicating that she was ready to be sentenced.