Age should not be used as a mitigating factor in the murder case of Klaus Dieter Neubert, 74, due to the seriousness of his crime, a court has heard.
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Sentencing submissions in the murder case of the Lymington man began in the Supreme Court on Friday.
The case was adjourned after Neubert’s defence counsel Todd Kovacic requested to seek a report from a psychiatrist.
A jury found Neubert guilty of murdering his estranged wife, 37-year-old Olga Neubert, at a red light at New Town in May 2015.
The jury also found Neubert guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to Mrs Neubert’s passenger, Josephine Ramos Cooper.
In his submission, Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates told Justice Michael Brett that the crime would also have effects on those who were nearby the scene.
“If you look at all the evidence, he’s cut down the rifle, he’s carried it in the car for a number of weeks, he’s been looking for her,” Mr Coates told the court.
“In my submission in this case, the case is so severe that it would be inappropriate to mitigate the sentence because of his age.
“It occurred in a very public place where at that time of the day you might expect many people to be in the vicinity, and there were many people in the vicinity.”
Mr Coates said in his submission that Neubert was currently suffering from a significant depressive illness, but said he was not suffering a major depressive illness at the time of the incident.
The case will continue in the Supreme Court next week.