Staff reporter
Windhoek-The case of murder convict Anthea Arnold has been placed back on the lower court’s roll after the High Court accepted Arnold’s appeal withdrawal.
Arnold, 32, had appealed the conviction in the lower court, when she was found guilty of murder with direct intent in October 2017 for the murder of her former German-lover Michael Breder, 56. In a twist of events she decided that she wished to abandon the appeal filed in the High Court so her matter can continue in a chronological manner it was supposed to in the lower court.
Making an appearance from custody before Magistrate Ileni Velikoshi in the Regional Court on Monday, Arnold informed the court that she managed to withdraw her appeal in the High Court and the matter may continue for mitigation before sentencing.
Arnold appeared without any legal representation after her lawyer Mbanga Siyomunji withdrew from the case due to conflicting instructions. She informed the court that she was in the process of attaining a private lawyer. According to Arnold should she fail to attain legal representation in these coming weeks, she will proceed with the case without any legal representation.
Arnold has been in police custody since her January 2017 following an attempt to flee the country to Zambia and has been on trial for murder.
Arnold who confessed to the killing only after her case was finalised, said that she killed the deceased because he infected her with an illness. She stated under oath that she had no plan to kill Breder on that fateful day in question. Throughout the trial Arnold maintained that she never intended to harm nor kill the deceased but when she fired that fatal shot six years ago, it was in self-defence.
Breder died after he was shot in the back while seated in the car at his home in Windhoek’s Southern Industrial Area during the night of May 14 – 15 2011.
Arnold is expected to make a return in court on May 29 after the court gave a final remand for legal representation.