Senior Dubai editor pleads not guilty to wife’s murder

Francis Matthew, a senior editor at Dubai-based newspaper Gulf News, denied the premeditated murder of his wife during a hearing at Dubai Criminal court on Wednesday.

The 60-year-old British expat, who had been married to his wife Jane for more than 32 years, told presiding judge Erfan Omar Atteyah “I’m not guilty”, according to reports.

He stands accused of hitting his wife, 62, twice on the head with a hammer at their home in Jumeirah on July 3 before calling police and claiming burglars were responsible for the assault.

Jane Matthew was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Reports showed that her death resulted from a strong blow to the head with a hard object. Matthew later “confessed” to the Dubai Police that he committed the murder because of marital issues, Dubai Media Office said at the time.

Matthew’s lawyer Ali Al Shamsi said he would submit his requests to the court at the next hearing on October 25, according to The National.

“We will need time to analyse the testimonies of witnesses so we can face them with our questions. We may seek the help of forensic experts from outside regarding the autopsy of the deceased,” he was quoted as saying.

Al Shamsi also said a number of the deceased’s family members had dropped charges.

Read: Senior Dubai editor to be tried for murder this month