BUFFALO, N.Y., March 9 (UPI) -- A New York man convicted of killing and beheading his wife has been given the maximum sentence of 25 years to life.
Muzzammil "Mo" Hassan was sentenced Wednesday by Erie County Judge Thomas Franczyk following a jury verdict of second degree murder handed down Feb. 7, The Buffalo News reported.
"Justice demands that you receive nothing less than the maximum possible sentence," Franczyk said, adding he had no doubt Hassan's action was a "premeditated act of violence."
Hassan, 46, was convicted of luring his wife to the couple's Buffalo-area television studio on Feb. 12, 2009, and assaulting her in a darkened hallway with two hunting knives, stabbing her more than 40 times then cutting her head off.
Police, child protection agencies and medical professionals were said to be aware of the family's domestic troubles and abuse suffered by Aasiya, although Hassan was never previously arrested and Aasiya refused to press charges against him.
She did, however, seek a protection order and filed for divorce the week before she was killed, the News reported.
Hassan has maintained that he -- not his wife -- suffered from battered spouse syndrome and that he "broke down under years of abuse" on the night of the murder.
