He pleaded guilty to having committed the crime in February and, according to the court ruling, must serve a mandatory minimum term of 18 years and eight months of his sentence, after which he will be eligible for parole.
Downing said the man “resented the fact his wife had moved on and was refusing to help his immigration application to stay in the country.”
“This was, on any view, a planned and pre-meditated murder involving a brutal and sustained attack using a knife, knowing full well that it would deprive four children under the age of eight of their mother,” Judge Michael Chambers QC said after passing the life sentence.
“It was motivated by you seeking retribution for her failure to support your immigration appeal against deportation as a failed asylum seeker,“ he continued. “You entered the house and it is clear from the post-mortem and forensic evidence that you subjected her to a sustained and brutal attack... You left the premises but before doing so, took significant steps in order to conceal what you had done.”
Regarding Abdullah’s previous convictions, the judge stated, “It does show that you are not someone of good character and, having been deported for that matter, you chose to come back into this country illegally and have committed this very serious crime.”
Editing by John J. Catherine