Businessman Mark Arnold, a British expatriate working in the United Arab Emitrates, has been found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend Kerry Winter, and is to serve a 15-year jail term in Dubai. Arnold was tried in the Dubai First Court of Instance for the premeditated murder of Miss Winter and sentenced by Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad.
Miss Winter went missing from a villa in Dubai on 20 August 2008, although her body has never been found witnesses claim to have seen 43-year-old Mr Arnold beat Winter with a baseball bat before dragging her into his car. Arnold’s prosecutors say he then disposed of her body either at sea or in the desert.
Despite the sentence Arnold insists he is innocent, claiming that Winter has faked her own death in an act of revenge, aiming to punish Arnold for ending their relationship. He admits to rowing with Winter on the night of the disappearance. His lawyer, Yousuf Hammad, said “There is no body or baseball bat that was allegedly used in the murder. Kerry Winter made this up to get her revenge because their relationship had ended”.
Despite the sentence Carol Winter, Kerry’s mother, was left unsatisfied “It is very difficult to be satisfied because, as a mother, I still want to know where my baby is. So whether he got 15 years or 50 years, it would not make a difference, it does not bring my daughter back. I also feel for his family and his child during this time, but all we want to know is what happened,” she said.
Mr Arnold, who escaped a death sentence, will be deported back to the United Kingdom once his jail term comes to an end.