35 year old Simon McCartney has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Suva High Court this morning for manually strangling his 29 year old wife Ashika Lata McCartney in Deuba last year.

Judge Justice Daniel Gounder while sentencing McCartney, ordered that he serve a minimum of 18 years in prison. He was found guilty by all five assessors yesterday.

While sentencing him, Justice Gounder said McCartney planned that brutal killing. He also said that McCarteny was also unfaithful to Ashika, as he was in a relationship with a girl shortly after marrying her.

Justice Gounder said McCartney manually strangled Ashika and after murdering her, he dumped the body in the bushes exposing her to scavengers and decomposition.

He told McCartney that as Lata's husband he should have provided her security however he betrayed her trust.

Ashika Lata McCartney's body was found in Deuba a few days after she arrived in the country from Australia in October last year, and medical reports showed that she was strangled to death.

Meanwhile, McCartney's father told reporters outside court that although they have lost the case, the battle is not over and they will appeal against the conviction and sentence.