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May 21, 2015

Murdered Aust man's wife asks for leniency

THE Indonesian woman accused of orchestrating her Australian husband's murder at their Bali home has appealed for leniency and a chance to be reunited with her sons - one of whom snubbed her before the trial began.
ROBERT Ellis, 60, was set upon by five men in the kitchen of his Sanur villa in October last year who slashed his throat "like killing a pig", police said at the time.
His wife of 25 years, Noor Ellis, admitted to hatching a plan to "teach him a lesson" after being denied a divorce. However, Ellis, known also as Julaikah Noor Aini, denies that she had wanted him killed. Prosecutors have asked for a 15-year sentence. On Tuesday, defence lawyer Ketut Suwiga Arya Dauh told Denpasar District Court that Ellis should be freed because she had not ordered the men to kill Mr Ellis or helped them do so. He said she had been a neglected wife and that Mr Ellis had been unfaithful to her, and money had been a source of contention between the couple. Mr Suwiga said based on the evidence and the statements, Ellis had not instructed or facilitated in her husband's death. She had given the men a towel, pillow and pillow case, and asked them to take care of the problem. However, Mr Ellis had died from a stab wound, "not because of the towel, pillow and its cover". Ellis expressed remorse and pleaded for the chance to rejoin her sons. "I want to live with them and will keep on working for them. I promise not to repeat it. I truly regret," she told the court. The couple's son, Peter Ellis, attended Tuesday's hearing with members of his father's family. When Noor Ellis was brought into the court, she approached him, asking the media for a moment's privacy, but Peter Ellis snubbed his mother, getting up from his seat and walking away. Chief judge Anak Agung Ketut Anom Wirakanta adjourned the trial to May 26.

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