Navy wife killer
gets 22 yearsAn emotion-packed proceeding
ends with prison time for a sailor
After deliberating for more than eight hours last night, a military jury sentenced a Pearl Harbor sailor to 22 1/2 years in jail for killing his Singaporean wife and mother-in-law a year ago.
Petty Officer David DeArmond, 33, also was reduced to the Navy's lowest enlisted rank and given a dishonorable discharge.
DeArmond showed no emotions as the judge, Capt. Michael Hinkley, read the sentence.
Under a plea agreement to escape the death penalty, DeArmond pleaded guilty last month to charges of murder of his mother-in-law Saniah Abdul Ghani, 66 and involuntary manslaughter of his wife, Zaleha, 31. He also confessed to having sex with the corpse of his wife after he crushed her skull.
DeArmond, a 13-year Navy veteran, received credit for one year served, so he will go to prison for 21 1/2 years.
Ahmad Kasti, of Singapore, who lost his younger sister and mother in the attack, decried the sentence, calling it "unbelievable."
"The whole system is a farce," he said. "Is this what you call justice in the U.S.?"
Kasti, who attended all six days of the sentencing hearing, said he knew that justice would not be served as the Navy took care of one of its own.
"You mean I can come to the U.S. and kill somebody and get 22 1/2 years?" he said.
DeArmond's twin brother, Donald DeArmond, of Atlanta, read a statement, saying his family was "happy that the Navy has made a commitment to provide David with the treatment he desperately needs and wants."
"My family and I want to recognize Zaleha's brother Ahmad Kasti's great loss," he said. "We have seen his sorrow over this last week, and we apologize to him on behalf of our brother.
"I am proud that for 13 years, David has given his best to the U.S. Navy and that knowing all of the facts, David's shipmates and command supported David in his guilty plea and continue to support him."
Earlier yesterday, DeArmond's defense attorneys recommended to the jury that he serve no more than 12 years in jail.
Kasti walked out of the Pearl Harbor courtroom after DeArmond's attorney asked the court for a lenient sentence.
"It's unbelievable," Kasti said earlier yesterday. "Where is the deterrent nature of the whole process? ... The loss of life of two individuals is so cheap. In Islam law it's a life for a life."
DeArmond had faced a maximum sentence of 30 years under the plea agreement. However, the jury of six enlisted sailors and three officers could have imposed a lighter sentence.
In closing arguments yesterday, prosecuting attorney Lt. Cmdr. James Lucci said the defense tried to switch the focus of the court-martial, putting Zaleha DeArmond on trial by calling witnesses who said she had affairs and was trying to get rid of her husband to get his insurance.
"We're here because he (DeArmond) put Zaleha and her mother in a cemetery. Nothing changes the fact that he slaughtered two women," Lucci said.
But defense attorney Lt. Col. Peter Delorier argued that "this was a case of a good sailor who got pushed over the edge. ... This is not a case of what happened, but why it happened."
Delorier said that DeArmond was a product of an abusive stepmother who beat him daily, and that affected his development and future relationships.
"The more he got beaten," Delorier said, "the harder would he try. But the harder he tried, he still got beaten."
He said DeArmond suffers from a severe dependent personality disorder.
Lucci said the government was not disputing arguments that DeArmond had "a rough childhood," but that does not justify DeArmond hitting his wife five times with a cast iron skillet, "crushing her skull like an eggshell."
Nor was it any justification for DeArmond to stab his mother-in-law 13 times with a steak knife when she tried to intervene in a fight between him and his wife, said Lucci.
As Lucci slammed his fists together repeatedly to illustrate the stabbing, DeArmond laid his head in his arms at the defense table.
Delores Eriz, DeArmond's mother, who had been sitting in the front row with Donald DeArmond, their stepsister and other family members, bolted out of the courtroom.
Kasti and Donald DeArmond are each seeking custody of the DeArmonds' three children, who were at home at the time of the killings but were uninjured. They are now under the custody of the state Child Protective Services and in the care of foster parents.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.