An Indian-origin woman and her ex-lover have been jailed for more than 20 years by an Australian court here for fatally poisoning her husband with cyanide-laced orange juice.
Sofia Sam, 34, and Arun Kamalasanan, 36, both from Kerala, were in February found guilty of murdering Sofia’s husband Sam Abraham at his home in Epping in Melbourne in October 2015, Australian news agency AAP reported. The Supreme Court on Friday jailed Arun, deemed the “architect” of the plot, for 27 years and Sofia for 22 years.
Cyanide poisoning
Sofia’s husband Sam, 33, was found dead, foaming at the mouth and was initially thought to have suffered a heart attack. But an autopsy later revealed he died of cyanide poisoning, and after a lengthy police operation Arun and Sofia were charged, tried and found guilty. “This is a very serious example of the crime of murder,” Justice Paul Coghlan said while announcing the sentence.
“Sam Abraham was a young man asleep in bed at home with his family when he was killed by the use of poison. I am satisfied that the poison was chosen as your murder weapon in an attempt to avoid detection,” Justice Coghlan said.
Detectives spied on the two for months after the death, watching them meet for lunch and run errands, the report said.
Motive to kill
“Both Sofia and Arun had a motive to kill Sam. They both wanted to be together,” Prosecutor Kerri Judd had told the trial. The court set a non-parole period of 23 years for Arun and 18 years for Sofia.
Published - June 22, 2018 09:25 pm IST
