Wife to be hanged if convicted of murder on ‘paradise’ island
A BRITISH woman charged with murdering her husband after their dream move to a tropical island became a nightmare goes on trial today insisting: “I loved that man.” locked up in a crowded mainland jail waiting for her trial. She appeared barefoot at early hearings with hands shackled and her hair matted.
Jones, originally from Somerset, claims she suffered years of domestic abuse.
Her lawyer, Sangeet Kaur Deo, a human rights specialist, told the Daily Mirror: “The one thing she wants everyone to know is she really loved this man.
“He had a lot of problems and she was standing by him and working it through.
“She never imagined anything like this could ever happen. She’s lost her husband and home. She is still grieving, it has been a traumatic experience. “We are of the view the facts of the case do not support a murder charge. “
The victim’s family are not believed to be attending the hearing, due to travel restrictions. A family friend, who did not wish to be named, said: “They feel the evidence speaks for itself.”
The couple met at a fire service event and Mr Jones left his wife and children.
They moved to Langkawi for a “new
WEAPON A knife found at the scene
Jones, and left, blood after stabbing
Husband John Jones life” but it descended into violence. Sangeet claims her client feared John would kill her one day and had suffered a broken jaw in one of his drunken rages.
But she was unable to call local police as domestic violence is “taboo” there.
Instead, she claims, her client put up with regular beatings until October 18 2018, when her husband was killed.
The lawyer said: “He came home completely drunk... he punched her all over. It’s unclear what happened next.”
She claims witnesses say Samantha was “living in hell in paradise”.
Eddie Higgs, 60, now living in Wales was friends with the pair in Langkawi.
He said previously: “Sam turned up at our house a couple of times in a mess... we had to sweep her hair up off the floor because it had come out in clumps.
“I always thought she’d be the one who ended up dead.”