Man who cut his biological dad to death with a bush knife gets life sentence, eligible for parole after serving a minimum of 20 years
23-year-old Linton Kule will now spend the rest of his life behind bars for cutting his own biological father to death two years ago with a bush knife.
Kule received his verdict from High Court Judge, Justice Ronald Bei Talasasa yesterday during the High Court Gizo Circuit.
He will only be eligible for parole after serving a minimum of twenty years, the verdict stated.
Kule was 21 years of age when he committed the crime.
Kule from Mereusu village, Vangunu, Marovo Lagoon, committed the crime at an Eagon Plantation camp on Arara, New Georgia.
The murder occurred between 1am and 2am on 23rd November 2021.
The deceased was the biological father of the offender and was 64 years of age at the time of his death.
The accused is the 5th child in a family of six.
The murder occurred after the accused was smoking inside a tent where his father and three others stayed that night.
The deceased was unhappy with his son and uttered these words, ‘eat dog.’
Upon hearing the words, the accused became ‘unhappy, enraged and offended’, the court head.
The son went outside of the tent, got a bush knife and walked back towards his father and struck him from the back with the knife.
When his father turned around, the son landed the knife on the right side of his head.
Thereafter, the son struck his father with the bush knife for the second time on one of his legs and the deceased fell down in pain.
When the deceased’s wife heard him cry, she rushed to the scene and saw her husband lying down and her son walked away into the dark with a bush knife.
The father died soon after due to massive blood loss.
The son was arrested and remanded on 26 November 2021. He spent one year and 8 months in custody at the Gizo Correctional Centre.
When handing down the judgement, Justice Talasasa said, “the value of human rights is far more previous than anything and no amount of remorse and compensation can restore the loss of a life.
“The killing of a person in a domestic setting in front of a family is a serious crime.
“It demonstrates the offender’s disregard for human life, the rule of law and the safety of other members of the family,” he said.
Justice Talasasa also considered the submissions from both the defence and prosecution.
But he said, no court will tolerate such action which he described as ‘barbaric and ruthless.’
The deceased lost his life because he suffered deep cuts to his head and leg which resulted in massive blood loss that led to his death.
“This is being considered as serious multiple injury being inflicted on a vulnerable person. He was not arm[ed] at that time.”
Justice Talasasa told the offender that he has failed to honour his parent and the Bible.
“If only you obey your father this would not have happened.
“Obedience is a sign of respect and [it] always brings blessing.
“Instead of listening to your father’s instruction, you reacted angrily and stabbed him.
“You were not obedient, not showing respect and honour to your father.
“For what you have done in taking away the life of your father, I now impose a mandatory sentence for life imprisonment as prescribed by the law.”
But in compliance with the established authorities which had been referred to by the counsels for the prosecution and his lawyer in relationship to a person sentenced to life imprisonment, the Justice Talasasa added, he is to serve a minimum of 20 years before being eligible for parole.
The sentence will commence on the date when he was remanded and the pre-sentence period.
Justice Talasasa took the starting point of 15 years and with circumstances of what had been happened, he raised it to 22 years.
But with mitigation from the defence, he reduced the 22 years by two years.
The means the offender will have to serve 20 years before he could be considered for parole.
Kule stood in silence when his verdict was handed down yesterday morning.
By MOFFAT MAMU
