Court: Wife-killer can collect insurance

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TORONTO, April 25 (UPI) -- A Canadian man who killed his wife can collect her life insurance because he was insane at the time of her death, the Ontario Court of Appeals ruled in Toronto.

The court overturned a lower court ruling that bars convicted killers from profiting from their victims, Postmedia News reported Wednesday.

In 2006, Ved Dhingra used a religious statue to smash in his estranged wife's head. He was found not criminally responsible for the death as he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time, the report said.

His son, acting as executor of the woman's estate, filed a claim to collect on a $51,000 life insurance policy. That created a legal battle between father and son and a court ordered the money be paid into a court holding account.

Tuesday's appellate ruling said the money plus interest "is rightfully payable" to Dhingra, the report said.