Man who strangled wife gets increased sentence
November 5, 2004 - 12:46PM
A Brisbane man who strangled his wife with a dog leash after she admitted to an affair, had his jail sentence increased from seven-and-half years to 10 years today.
In handing down judgment in Queensland's Court of Appeal, Chief Justice Paul de Jersey said such a killing was an outrage and should be discouraged by courts.
Evan John Schubring was found guilty after a Supreme Court trial in Brisbane in June this year of the manslaughter of his wife Kerry, 43, on August 10, 2001.
She was bashed and strangled with a dog leash after asking Schubring for a divorce.
She had just confessed to starting an affair with a colleague during a secondment working in Sydney during the 2000 Olympics.
Schubring was tried for murder but acquitted before being automatically sentenced on a charge of manslaughter which he pleaded guilty to before the trial.
The 47-year-old pleaded guilty on the grounds of diminished responsibility, claiming he lost self control and was provoked by news of her love affair.
Sentencing judge George Fryberg declared Schubring a serious violent offender, ensuring he would serve 80 per cent of his sentence before parole was considered.
However, Justice de Jersey said in the appeal judgment today that Schubring was given too much credit for pleading guilty.
He agreed with Queensland Attorney General Rod Welford who appealed the sentence on the grounds it was manifestly inadequate.
"When personal relationships fracture, the notion that one of the partners ... take the life of the other is an outrage which must be discouraged..." Justice de Jersey wrote.
Schubring lost a counter appeal to reduce his sentence on the grounds it was excessive.
AAP