Family’s ‘life sentence of loss’
Franchesca Kororia Borell had never appeared in court before killing her partner on Christmas Day two years ago.
The 24-year-old mother will now spend at least 10 years in jail for the murder of Hardeep Singh, who she stabbed in the heart during a domestic dispute.
Singh, 26, suffered critical wounds in the attack at a Christchurch house in 2016. He died of his injuries in hospital two days later.
At her sentencing in the High Court at Christchurch, Justice Cameron Mander said Borell had acknowledged a history of abusing alcohol and a tendency to resort to violence, after suffering domestic abuse from a previous partner.
‘‘This is why you resort to violence at times of stress in your personal relationships,’’ he said.
‘‘Despite your lack of prior offending, violence and alcohol had become a way of life for you.’’
At her trial in October, Borell admitted manslaughter but denied the murder charge, claiming that she had thrown the kitchen knife at Singh after an argument, and had not intended to kill him.
Prosecutor Barnaby Hawes argued it was most likely she had stabbed him rather than thrown the knife and her actions amounted to murder. The jury returned a rapid guilty verdict.
Borell is the mother of a young daughter, who is being cared for by her grandmother.
Singh’s family said in a joint statement, read out in court by a victim adviser, they were ‘‘left with a life sentence of loss’’.
He had been studying and working to support his parents in India and their lives had changed forever with his death. They felt helpless being so far away.
Defence counsel Phil Shamy urged the lowest level of nonparole term – 10 years – be imposed as part of the life sentence. There was no basis to say Borell lacked remorse, and she had asked him to express her apologies to the family of the victim.
‘‘She has made a significant and unfortunately lethal error which she will pay for, for the rest of her life,’’ he said.
Borell and Singh had been in a relationship for several months and were living at a Cashmere address.
They argued on Christmas Day. She said she was leaving him, but when he prevented her from leaving by blocking her way she became very angry. Borell picked up a large kitchen knife. She claimed to have thrown it, but the judge said he considered that was unlikely.
He considered she had used the knife to inflict a single stab wound to the chest, which caused considerable internal bleeding. Borell rang emergency services in a distressed state – the recording was played at the trial – and tried to help Singh.
Borell later said she had been sad and depressed about not having her daughter with her. She resorted to drinking alcohol on Christmas morning and had argued with Singh throughout the day.
The judge imposed a 10-year non-parole term, but said Borell would not be released until the Parole Board decided her behaviour warranted it.
He told her: ‘‘Alcohol, and now a manifest propensity to resort to violence a times of stress, present significant hurdles for you to overcome.’’