1. On 16 September 2003, following a trial at the Central Criminal Court before HH Judge James Stewart QC, the defendant was convicted of the murder of Paula Injai. The defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment and, in a report written to the Lord Chief Justice, the trial judge recommended that the defendant should serve a minimum period of 14 years. I am now required under sections 269 and 276 and Schedule 22 Criminal Justice Act 2003 to set the period to be served by the defendant before the early release provisions in section 28(5)-(8) Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 apply to him,
2. The defendant was born on 7 June 1963. On 8 January 2003 he had been separated from his second wife, the deceased, for about 4 months. He had previously been convicted of assaulting Mrs Injai and was the subject of a non-molestation order. Usually the deceased agreed to take their son Isaac to visit his father in a public place but on this occasion she was persuaded to take Isaac to the defendant’s flat. The defendant had decided to kill his wife. He told a work colleague the day before that he would hear all about it afterwards. When Mrs Injai arrived with Isaac the defendant attacked her with a knife to her neck. There were 67 sites of injury from the knife and a blunt instrument. His defence, rejected by the jury, was provocation arising from an alleged attack by the deceased upon him.
4. I have received, read and considered a victim impact statement from the deceased’s daughter, Sarah Sargeson, who at a young age has been required to cease her paid employment and take on the mothering role both for her full brother and for her half-brother, Isaac.
5. I have received a short letter from the defendant who expresses his remorse for his crime.
6. I should set the minimum term by reference to the transitional provisions contained in schedule 22 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, in particular paragraphs 7 and 8. I may not, under paragraph 8, specify a part of the sentence which is greater than that which would have been notified under the practice followed by the Secretary of State before December 2002. The practice of the Secretary of State in considering murders committed between 31 May 2002 and 18 December 2003 was to follow recommendations made by the Lord Chief Justice in accordance with his Practice Statement of 31 May 2002. During that period there were ‘normal’ and ‘higher’ starting points set at 12 and 15/16 years which were varied according to features in aggravation and mitigation of the offence.
7. The starting point for this offence was 12 years. The offence was aggravated by (1) the planning which preceded it and (2) the course of conduct of which the killing was the culmination.
8. I agree with the opinion of the trial judge that the appropriate minimum term, which I now set, is 14 years less 8 months 6 days spent on remand awaiting trial.
9. The defendant should understand that this is not the maximum period he will serve. This is the period he must serve before he may be considered for parole. He will not be released if and while he remains an unacceptable risk to the public.
From Get Surrey
Warehouse worker Irenu Injai, 40, bit Paula Injai’s nose and shoulder and plunged the knife into her neck with such force the blade snapped.
He then ripped the wedding rings from her fingers and left his home in Woking, with his two-year-old child Isaac.
The Old Bailey heard how Injai had phoned up her new lover before the attack on January 8 this year to ask whether he had been having sex with his wife.
He was furious that his young son would have a new father figure because his first wife had also found a new man after they separated.
He had married Paula in 1999 but he left their home in Wimbledon Road, Camberley, after their separation in August 2002.
He was forbidden by court order from going within 500 yards of Paula’s house and would meet her to pick up his son at a local petrol station.
On January 7 Injai had told a colleague at a supermarket warehouse in Bracknell he could not afford the child support payments and was leaving work.
When asked what he meant, Injai allegedly replied: “Never you mind. Listen to the news or read about it.”
The next day, Paula, 36, went to the defendant’s home at Maybury Road with Isaac to tell him she had got together with new partner Glen Campbell.
She had received a text from her friend saying: Be strong, hope it all goes OK.
At around 10am that morning, neighbours heard screaming and a baby crying and Injai left his flat with his son later that morning.
He then made phone calls to her friends pretending not to know what had happened to her and turned up at a friend’s house with cuts to his hand.
Injai also admitted he had taken the wedding rings from his wife to sell to reduce his debt.
That evening police officers found Paula’s body lying beneath a duvet on a bed at Injai’s flat.
She had been stabbed four times in the neck, severing her major arteries, and human bite marks were found on her nose and shoulder.
Jurors saw gruesome pictures of the blood spattered and pooled on the walls, windows, carpet and curtains of the bedsit.
They found Injai guilty of murder by a unanimous verdict after only two hours deliberation.
Judge James Stewart, QC, jailed Injai for life condemning the “horrendous crime”.
“This was a brutal attack. The only sentence I can pass upon you is one of life imprisonment”.
Injai, of Maybury Road, Woking, had admitted manslaughter but denied murder.
He claimed he was provoked when Paula came at him with a knife.
After sentencing, Paula’s 19-year-old daughter, who did not want to be named, said: “My mum was a beautiful, loving and caring person who had a heart of gold. It is impossible to describe the tragedy he has caused our family.
“Although we are pleased with the court verdict, it will never bring back our mum, who we dearly miss.
“We would like to thank all the witnesses who gave evidence at court and the police for their hard work in this case and their support to our family.”
Det Chief Insp John Cox, who led the investigation, said: “The effects of murder are not limited simply to the victim. What is left behind is a trail of devastation in the lives of other people.
“Our sympathies in this case go particularly to Paula’s three children who have been deprived of their mother by this horrific act.”
