Walter Buchanan, a 66-year-old Scottish man, has been sentenced to life in prison after he brutally murdered his 37-year-old Kenyan wife, Darrel Odhiambo.
An Edinburgh High Court judge, Lord Cubie, sentenced Walter Buchanan to life imprisonment after he found him guilty of killing his wife by strangling her.
"As you have already been told, the sentence for murder is fixed by law. I must now impose that sentence upon you. I sentence you to imprisonment for life,'' the judgment by Judge Cubie reads in part.
Darrel found that Buchanan had been cheating on her, and upon enquiring, the Scottish man unleashed war on her. He is said to have assaulted her and, as part of that assault, compressed her neck and restricted her breathing, causing her demise at their flat near Hamilton Racecourse in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
''The court heard that she sent a message, apparently unhappy that you were out without her; she may have harboured unfair suspicions about with whom and where you were; I emphasise that her actions or words provide no justification, provocation, or explanation for what happened. You returned home, and there was a verbal and then physical confrontation,'' the judge continued.
According to the judge, the compression of her neck led to a brain injury, bruising, and a rib fracture on February 18, 2023. The two had been married for six years, and the accused had earlier denied the charges; however, a jury found him guilty of murder in January 2024.
Buchanan alleged that he thought that she had gone to sleep only to wake up with a cold body. He called the police, followed instructions for CPR, and would later tell the officers that she had choked.
He then changed his account and later alleged that she had been drinking and fell on the stairs. The post-mortem described several injuries and concluded there had been manual strangulation and smothering.
The jury found that at the time of the incident, the Scottish man either intended to kill or was so wickedly reckless as to the consequences of your actions that it amounted to murder.
Buchanan’s crime left their son motherless and caused frustration to Darrel's mother and sisters, who expressed their frustration to the court.
"You deprived your wife’s mother and sisters and extended family of her society. I have read from the victim impact statements the feelings of loss which they endure; and you have left her son Jimmy motherless," the judgment continued.
Although Buchanan has been sentenced to life imprisonment, he has a chance to apply for parole since the judge found that he was remorseful after what he did. However, he must first serve for not less than 15 years before he can apply for parole.
''I bear in mind your age and your previously useful role in society. I consider that the appropriate punishment part in your case should be 15 years,'' the judgment concluded. By
