An American man was sentenced to death by hanging in Malaysia on Tuesday for murdering his ex-wife, but his lawyer said he was acting in self-defence and would appeal.
Gerald Wayne Mickelson, 63, was convicted of strangling Guilda Mickelson in Kuala Lumpur in November 2016, his lawyer K. A. Ramu said.
Mickelson, who had been working as a telecommunications consultant in Malaysia, was about to move to the Philippines to be with his new wife when his former partner called him.
When Mickelson went to see her in a serviced apartment complex, the 62-year-old allegedly tried to kill him, resulting in a struggle that ended in her death, Ramu said.
The lawyer said Mickelson had no motive to murder his ex-wife and even called the management of the building after killing her, rather than fleeing.
An appeal is expected to be filed within the next two weeks.
Malaysia has a mandatory death penalty for murder, which is always carried out by hanging.
Source: Agence France-Presse, September 4, 2018
Malaysian court sentences US man to death by hanging for killing ex-wife
Gerald Wayne Mickelson had planned to move to the Phillipines to be with his new Filipino wife
An American man has been sentence to death by hanging in Malaysia after he was convicted of murdering his ex-wife.
Gerald Wayne Mickelson, 63, was found guilty on Tuesday of strangling of his wife Guilda Mickelson in November 2016, but will appeal against the ruling, according to his lawyer KA Ramu
Mr Mickelson was reportedly working as an engineering consultant in Malaysia, but had planned to move to the Philippines to be with his new Filipino wife.
Mr Ramu said his client had testified that he got into an argument with his ex-wife in a Kuala Lumpur hotel. He said the American had acted in self-defence when his ex-wife started attacking him.
The court found otherwise in its ruling Tuesday.
“After evaluating all evidence, the court found he was guilty” as the post-mortem showed that Guilda Mickelson died of “fatal compression to the neck”, Mr Ramu said, adding that she also suffered some head injuries.
After the incident, he said his client had called the hotel management for help and did not try to escape.
Mr Mickelson cried after the brief ruling was read out in the courtroom and was consoled by his Filipino wife, Mr Ramu said, adding that his client plans to appeal.
The killing took place at a hotel in the Brickfields area between 5am and 11.45am on 26 November, 2016, according to the
New Straits Times.
:
independent.co.uk, John Sharma, Sept. 4, 2018
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