Woman accused of murder is mentally sound, expert testifies

She stabbed her boyfriend to death in a drunken dispute, prosecutors say.

Powered by automated translation

DUBAI // A psychiatrist testified today that a woman was in control and not emotionally disturbed when she stabbed her boyfriend to death.

"As I mentioned in my report, your honour, when she committed the crime, she was fully aware of her actions," he told the Criminal Court of First Instance.

The psychological report said the woman, AF, suffered from a disorder mainly caused by the abuse she was subjected to by her mother as a child. She was also traumatised by a rape, the report said.

AF, a 26-year-old Kazakh businesswoman, said she was physiologically disturbed when she stabbed her boyfriend, YS, from the Ukraine, in the heart in November 2010.

She said she was defending herself against YS's attempts to strangle her.

A forensics expert who testified this morning also defied her claims, saying YS suffered many "defence wounds" on his arm as he tried to protect himself.

"One penetrative stab killed him, the one that penetrated the chest all through his heart and settled in his back," the expert told the court.

Records stated AF and YS were in a relationship and got drunk before a dispute erupted. Signs of struggle were found on the deceased's hands, neck and face, while scratches were found on AF's neck, which she claimed a cat had caused.

The incident was first reported as a suicide.

AF was present when police arrived, ES, a Dubai police captain testified. ES said he questioned her inside the villa, and she told him that YS had come by to work out some problems they were having. She told him YS started drinking, and after an argument became heated, he stabbed himself.

The next hearing was scheduled for October 25 to listen to more witness testimony.

salamir@thenational.ae