WOMEN WHO SHOT ABUSIVE HUSBAND FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER

On the evening that Tertia Vukomanovic tried once again to leave her abusive husband‚ he charged at her with a broken glass‚ head-butted her and spat on her – and then she killed him.She claimed she was protecting herself‚ but the Johannesburg High Court found that she went too far and convicted her of murder on Thursday. Vukomanovic also faced charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition but was acquitted on these. She had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Vukomanovic‚ 30‚ testified in the trial that she and her husband Tomislav‚ a Yugoslavian who was 32 when he died‚ were in love at first but with time the romance grew violent and abusive. She claimed that Tomislav abused drugs and alcohol and that he was most aggressive while under the influence. Though she had tried to leave him many times before‚ she always returned as women in abusive relationships often do‚ she said. The last time she tried to leave‚ in October 2013‚ led to his death.

Vukomanovic said she had packed and Tomislav had agreed that she and their child could leave and stay with her mother. Doing a last sweep of the bathroom in their home in Norwood‚ Johannesburg‚ to ensure that she had packed all their belongings‚ she found a firearm and clothing marked with bullet holes in the laundry bin‚ she said.

She said she confronted her husband and a physical fight ensued. She then reached for the gun and shot at him.Tomislav died at the scene with wounds to his arm‚ chest and waist. Though Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela could not find that Vukomanovic had lied about Tomislav’s attack on her‚ he said that he could not accept her version in its entirety.

Vukomanovic said that they were both in the bathroom and she fired directly at her husband. A ballistics expert and a pathologist‚ however‚ testified that‚ based on Tomislav’s wounds‚ there was a door between him and Vukomanovic when she fired three shots at him.Maumela said that shooting Tomislav through a door meant that Vukomanovic was not in direct danger.

“She is found guilty of murder as she exceeded the bounds of self-defence‚” he said. Maumela postponed the case to February next year in order for a pre-sentencing report to be prepared. Vukomanovic’s bail was increased to R5000.Defence lawyer Piet Khenene said that Vukomanovic would only decide whether to appeal once she has been sentenced. Vukomanovic’s mother and mother-in-law were in court but declined to comment.