Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LIFE SENTENCE FOR MURDERING PARTNER
Woman sorry over knife attack on 54-year-old Tony
A LIFE sentence was imposed yesterday upon a 35-year old woman after she admitted murdering her boyfriend.
Anthony Browne, 54, known as Tony, was stabbed in his West Belfast home in October 2022 and died in hospital from his injuries.
His partner Wiktoria Maksymowicz, 35, appeared at Belfast Crown Court via a videolink with Hydebank, where she admitted three offences “aggravated by reason of involving domestic abuse” which she had previously denied.
Her barrister Gavan Duffy KC told Mr Justice O’hara that he had consulted with his client and following this, he asked that she be re-arraigned.
The Polish national, from Woodside Park in Dunmurry, was then addressed on the link by a court clerk and was charged that on October 14, 2022, she murdered Mr Browne in an offence aggravated by reason of involving domestic abuse.
When asked “do you now plead guilty or not guilty?”, Maksymowicz replied “guilty”.
She was further charged with both possessing a knife on a Glider Bus and of assaulting Mr Browne the day before his murder, on October 13, 2022.
These offences were also aggravated by reason of involving domestic abuse and when charged with the two counts, Maksymowicz replied “guilty” to both.
When a fourth charge of possessing cannabis on October 14, 2022 was put her, she admitted this charge too.
Crown barrister Frank O’donoghue KC said the pleas were “acceptable to the prosecution” and added that he would now be seeking victim impact statements from Mr Browne’s family ahead of the tariff hearing.
As relatives and friends of the deceased sat in the public gallery, Mr Duffy told the court his client wished to apologise “for the damage and harm she has caused”. Mr Justice O’hara listed the tariff hearing for Thursday June 27.
[She’s sorry] for the damage and harm she has caused BARRISTER GAVAN DUFFY YESTERDAY