MEGUEL Barker who was on trial for the 2015 murder of his wife at Bagotville, was on Monday afternoon sentenced to 80 years’ imprisonment after a 12-member jury found him guilty.

The verdict was unanimous and was returned after a few hours of deliberations in the Georgetown High Court before Justice Navindra Singh.

Justice Singh in handing down his sentence told the accused: “You went there, you got caught, you went back and attacked her and you are asking this court for mercy”.

The judge imposed 10 years for premeditation/domestic violence, considering the prevalence after he started at a base of 60 years, bringing the total years in jail to 80 years.

At first when the judge asked the accused what he had to say, he proclaimed his innocence then later told the court that “he was sorry for whatever happened”.

In his plea of mitigation, defence attorney, Maxwell McKay said that the accused was 29 years old and was religious and while in jail, he sought to reform himself. He asked for leniency in sentencing.

In response, state prosecutor Tiffini Lyken said that a four-year-old child was left without a mother and was still grieving over her loss, since the child is unable to get over the incident.

She further told the court that the instrument used should be considered, since the accused inflicted six stab wounds on the deceased; even though she put up a fight he continued to stab her.

Lyken added that the accused did not show any remorse.

After the sentence was handed down, the accused who showed no expression was escorted to jail where he will have 80 years to think about what he did.

The accused Meguel Barker called “Allan” or “Miguel Anthony” was on trial for the murder of his wife, Donessa Barker.

It is alleged that at about 15:00hrs on April 30, 2015, the accused sneaked into the house in which the deceased, Donessa Barker was staying, and fatally knifed her and escaped via an open bedroom window.

The couple who had been married for about a year, had constant domestic spats and the deceased had gone to stay at the home of a friend, Shaniza Clarke, at Lot 21 Inner Bagotville, West Bank Demerara, when she was killed.

Government Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh testified on Monday, stating that he performed the port-mortem on the body of the deceased and he gave the cause of death as shock and haemorrhage due to stab wounds to the chest.