A 66-year-old Scottish man who brutally murdered his Kenyan wife after she accused him of cheating has been sentenced to life in prison.
Walter Buchanan, a chartered surveyor, will serve a minimum of 15 years behind bars for the killing of his wife, 37-year-old Darrel Odhiambo, at their flat near Hamilton racecourse in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
During the trial at the High Court in Glasgow on Wednesday, April 2, the court heard how Odhiambo, suffered a “significant” compression of her neck, which led to a brain injury, bruising, and a rib fracture on February 18, 2023.
Earlier, Buchanan, who had been married to Odhiambo for six years, denied the charges.
However, a jury found him guilty of murder in January 2024.
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How Scottish Man Killed Odhiambo and Why
During the trial, the court heard that Buchanan had been out the night before the incident and received a text from his wife accusing him of cheating.
When he returned home, the argument escalated into a struggle, during which Odhiambo was dragged across the floor.
Buchanan testified that while he was in bed, his wife called him a “cheater” again. In response, he grabbed her wrists, pushed her onto the bed, and climbed on top of her.
Further, the Scottish admitted to gripping her neck with one hand and pressing her into a pillow before she rolled onto her side. The court described his actions as “perplexing” and deeply troubling.
Consequently, at the sentencing hearing in Edinburgh, Judge Lord Cubie condemned Buchanan’s actions, highlighting the deep suffering he had inflicted on Odhiambo’s family.
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Odhiambo’s Family at Loss
Also, the court also heard victim impact statements from Odhiambo’s family, detailing the emotional devastation her murder had caused.
“She was younger than you, only 37, so you deprived her of many more years of life. You deprived your wife’s mother and sisters and the extended family of her society,” the judge said.
Buchanan’s crime also left Odhiambo’s son motherless, a point that Judge Cubie emphasized while acknowledging the irreversible pain caused.
“Your actions have caused huge upset and upheaval for those left behind. It is baffling that you should behave as you did and commit a very serious crime,
“I have no doubt that you regretted what had happened and that you wish you could turn the clock back, but the jury found your actions at the time to be murderous. And it was revealing that in your evidence you described the events as nightmare for you; you were concerned for the consequences for yourself, ” he added.
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