A man who murdered his wife and academic colleague in a “jealous rage” has been jailed for life.
Ertan Ersoy, 51, threw his hearing loop to the floor of the dock when his sentence, which included a minimum term of 25 years, was read out by the judge at Chelmsford crown court.
Ersoy was found guilty on Thursday of murdering Dr Antonella Castelvedere, 52, an English and creative writing lecturer at the University of Suffolk in Ipswich, in June last year.
Christopher Paxton KC, prosecuting, said Ersoy stabbed Castelvedere “many times, causing 15 areas of sharp force injury” to her face, neck, upper chest and hands.
Ersoy suspected his wife was cheating on him, jurors were told. He had previously placed a listening device in their home in Colchester, Essex, the court heard.
In a sentencing hearing on Friday, the judge, Christopher Morgan, said Ersoy stabbed Castelvedere in a “jealous rage”.
Addressing Ersoy, he said: “I’m satisfied the offence occurred because you couldn’t accept the autonomy of Antonella. I use that firstly within the marriage and secondly within her work life.”
The judge said he could not be sure of the precise circumstances of the stabbing. But he said he was “sure [Ersoy] entered that kitchen and confronted her in a manner that you knew was likely to upset her, make her angry and provoke a response.”
He added: “She was no threat to you when you ended her life in the most brutal fashion by cutting her throat.”
Paxton had told the trial: “In short and simple terms, we, the prosecution, say it was this defendant’s anger, jealousy and his failings that led to him killing his wife.”
Paxton said Ersoy, who was a visiting fellow at the University of Suffolk, had called emergency services and gone out into the street and called for help after stabbing his wife.
Ersoy had denied his wife’s murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter, claiming in his defence that he had been experiencing an abnormality of mental functioning at the time.
Sarah Elliott KC, mitigating, said Ersoy “may have been stabbed immediately before the killing”.
The judge said if this did happen, he was sure Castelvedere “had no intention to hurt you and she didn’t stab you as the aggressor”.
He said Ersoy had stabbed his wife repeatedly.
