A 60-year-old man, Doe Fiano, has been sen­tenced to 20 years’ imprisonment by an Accra High Court for shooting and killing his wife in front of their four-year-old child.

Fiano pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was also handed an additional 10- year sentence for possessing a firearm without lawful authority.

The sentences will run concurrently, as ruled by Justice Mrs Kizita Naa Koowa Quarshie.

The tragic incident oc­curred following an argu­ment sparked by a phone call the victim, Grace Yorke Torku, received from a male acquaintance.

In response, Fiano en­tered their bedroom, re­trieved a pistol, and fatally shot her.

Originally charged with murder, Fiano opted to plead guilty to manslaugh­ter under Section 296(1) of Act 30, thereby securing a reduced sentence.

His lawyer told the court the convict had no previous criminal record, had shown remorse, and was caring for the couple’s children.

The prosecution, however, called for a minimum sen­tence of 30 years, empha­sising the emotional trauma inflicted on the four-year-old child who witnessed the killing.

It stated that what happened to the child had really affected him, also describing gunshot wounds to the victim’s head and genital area.

In sentencing, the judge took into account both aggravating and mitigating factors, including Fiano’s remorse, first-time offender status, and the need to care for his children.

According to the prosecu­tion, the Assemblyman for Okomante electoral area, Gordon Tsimese, alerted police after the incident at Taaboo Line, where Fiano was reportedly wielding a weapon and threatening passers-by.

Upon arrival, police dis­covered the victim lying in a pool of blood.

The weapon was later recovered, and an empty magazine retrieved on a follow-up visit.

Fiano was arrested at Nii Amui Park at Ashaiman through police intelligence.

On June 6, 2023, a pa­thologist at Tema General Hospital confirmed the cause of death as gunshot wounds to the head, de­scribed as unnatural. —GNA