Wife 'butchered husband by slicing off parts of his body and feeding him to dog'
A woman in Majorca was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of murdering her husband in a shocking crime that left the nation horrified.
The body of Horst Hans Henkels was discovered in the home he shared with his wife Svetlana Batukova, and it had been partially consumed by the family dog.
Batukova, from Russia, was 46-years-old at the time of the murder. She later appealed her initial sentence, arguing that there was insufficient evidence for a conviction.
Local media reported Batukova blamed the dog for Henkels' death, but this was refuted during the unfoturnate victim's post mortem, which revealed he had bled to death from multiple stab wounds.
The Spanish court sided with the forensic evidence and dismissed her claims, upholding the original sentence which she is currently serving, reports the Mirror US.
The gruesome murder occurred in the family home in Sant Llorenç in 2016, where German citizen Horst Hans Henkels, aged 66, was repeatedly stabbed and parts of his arms were reportedly stripped to the bone.
According to The Majorca Daily Bulletin, the flesh removed from Henkels' arms was then eaten by the family's pet, an American Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
The prolonged attack took place in the couple's flat, where Henkels was allegedly first drugged before later dying on the floor due to blood loss.
Henkels, who had recently undergone surgery on his windpipe and was barely able to speak at the time of the attack, met a gruesome end at the hands of his wife wielding a kitchen knife in a horrific incident.
Authorities confirmed they had been called to the property several times in the months leading up to the death due to reports of domestic violence.
The pair were thought to have been together for two years before tying the knot, just months before Henkels' untimely death. Batukova was reportedly under the influence of drugs and alcohol when she was arrested.
Court evidence during Batukova's 2020 appeal revealed how she continued to mutilate her husband's body until he passed away. She maintained that the couple's dogs were responsible for Henkels' death, but this claim was dismissed by forensic experts who were certain a knife was used in the killing.
Batukova's defence team claimed there were inconsistencies during their client's original trial and argued there wasn't sufficient evidence to prove she had murdered her husband. These arguments were dismissed by the court, which upheld Batukova's original 14-year sentence.
During the initial probe into Henkels' murder, it emerged that his wife had allegedly offered money to a third party to kill her husband but decided to take matters into her own hands.
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