Arnold abandons appeal

WINDHOEK, 12 APR – A Windhoek resident who was last year found guilty of shooting and killing her 52-year-old former boyfriend in May 2011, on Thursday abandoned her appeal process against the conviction.
The 32-year-old Anthea Arnold abandoned the appeal bid during a criminal appeal case management review when a date for the hearing was being decided upon by her State-funded defence lawyer, Mbanga Siyomuinji, and the prosecution’s representative, State Advocate Salomon Kanyemba in court on Thursday.
High Court Deputy Judge-President Hosea Angula, as per Arnold’s request, thereafter ordered the withdrawal of the appeal challenging a conviction verdict that was handed down by Regional Court Magistrate Ileni Velikoshi on 25 October 2017.
Following the withdrawal of the appeal, Arnold’s case was referred back to the Windhoek Regional Court for the presentation of the pre-sentencing evidence to be heard on 23 April 2018.
Arnold was on 25 October last year convicted on a charge of murder with direct intent to kill over the death of her former boyfriend, Michael Breder.
Arnold shot and killed Breder, a German national, while seated in a car in Windhoek’s Southern Industrial Area between the night of 14 May and the morning of 15 May 2011.
In his judgement last year, Regional Magistrate Velikoshi said Arnold had not only contradicted herself on several occasions, but was also evasive and extremely defensive during her trial.
“In my view, the accused has not impressed the court as a truthful witness. Her version of events right from the start appeared to be carefully rehearsed to deflect the court from making a finding as to her state of mind,” stated Magistrate Velikoshi at the time.
After her conviction, Arnold confessed that she agreed with what the court concluded about her case.
She stated that she shot and killed Breder and wrote on a piece of paper that was found at the crime scene that she committed the offence because the deceased allegedly infected her with an unknown disease.

NAMPA