I was victim of abuse for a long time, says woman accused of killing husband

 By CHARLES MOI

A WOMAN accused of killing her husband at the school where he was teaching told a court that she had been the victim of abuse for too long.

Medline Yari is accused of stabbing her husband Petrus Hekawi at the Gerehu Primary School in Port Moresby on July 15, 2010.

She told Justice George Manuhu during the murder trial yesterday that she had gone to the school to bring her husband because he was to appear in court that morning.

That case in relation to a fight they had the previous day. 

She said she sustained serious injuries during the fight. 

When Hekawi failed to turn up in court, she went to the school to confront him.

“He came out and stood at the verandah of the classroom, where I begged him to go with me to the police station but he did not respond to me well,” she said.

She said he punched her when she raised her voice and continued beating her from the back.

She told the court that when Hekawi tried to push her down the steps, she pulled out a knife and swung it towards her back without looking at him.

The prosecution called Henry Kakale and Lin Charles, who taught at the school during the incident.

They gave their account of what they saw that day.