A court in Hong Kong has on Wednesday sentenced Ousainou Touray, a 39-year-old Gambian to life imprisonment for murdering Cuyacot, his 40-year-old Filipino wife.
Touray was found guilty of murder by all seven jurors after deliberations that lasted 15 hours. Hong Kong High Court judge Alex Lee Wan-tang sentenced Ousainou to life imprisonment.
Ousainou turned himself to police on April 10th, after claiming to have found his wife, Adele Melano Cuyacot, 40, died after he had woken up from fighting with her.
Ousainou arrived in Hong Kong in 2012 on a recognizance form issued by the Immigration Department. He had a criminal record consisting of possessing dangerous drugs in 2015 and indecent assault and common assault in 2017. He met the victim in 2015 and the two got married in 2019.
Testifying in court, one neighbor said Ousainou fought his wife in the early hours and in the morning on April 9 as loud noise came out of their flat. But the neighbor didn’t hear anything from their flat after around noon on that day.
Ousainou turned himself to police carrying three suitcases on the evening of April 10. He was also arrested, as officers found a bloodstain on two fingers on his right hand and arrested him for murder under police caution. Ousainou pleaded not guilty to murder, stressing that it was an accident.
He admitted to fighting with Cuyacot, but added that he was just defending himself, as his wife had been more emotional than usual at the time. He also said he had forgotten whether or not he had assaulted Cuyacot, as the situation was chaotic back then. However, he pointed out that it is likely that his wife was hit by a cabinet.
Ousainou claimed that he and his wife went to sleep together after the fight and that he found Cuyacot dead when he woke up the next day. He then prayed to Allah, wrapped Cuyacot’s body with a bedsheet, and placed a Quran on top of her body.
He also told officers he is a Muslim and he and his wife moved into the flat on Pang Ching Street in To Kwa Wan in February 2019.
Earlier in court, Ousainou said Cuyacot knew he had had two other wives before they got married, and she had not asked him to divorce the two other wives. However, they argued a lot over the two other wives after they got married.