WINNIPEG – Prosecutors want a Winnipeg man who beat his wife to death with a hammer to spend longer than usual behind bars.
Miloslav Kapsik struck his wife, Ludmila, almost 100 times in their apartment in March 2010.
He was convicted of second-degree murder last month, despite the defence arguing that the 64-year-old had a mental illness at the time and wasn’t criminally responsible.
The crime usually carries a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.
But the Crown says Kapsik should spend at least 14 years behind bars before being eligible for release.
The prosecution suggested there was a lack of evidence that mental illness played a role in the — quote — “sustained, prolonged and extremely brutal murder” of his 59-year-old wife.
The judge’s decision is to come at a later date. Only one of the 12 jurors recommended increasing parole eligibility.
The couple had been married for 36 years and there was no known previous history of domestic violence.
Court heard at the trial that Kapsik and his wife were watching a hockey game when he got up, picked up a hammer from a storage room and struck her.
After the attack, Kapsik washed his wife’s blood from his hands and face, changed his clothes and sat on his couch for about an hour before calling 911. He told the operator: “I hurt my wife. Send the police.”
When questioned by police, Kapsik offered no explanation for his actions. He did not testify at his trial.
Medical records showed Kapsik was first diagnosed with severe depression in 2003. He gave up his job as a bus driver because he was unable to cope with the pressures associated with the work.
The Kapsiks had moved to Canada from the Czech Republic and had no children.
(CJOB, The Canadian Press)
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