Australian man gets 10-year sentence for aiding in wife's suicide

Nov. 2 (UPI) -- An Australian man who was motivated by an insurance payout to encourage his wife's suicide received a 10-year prison sentence on Friday.

Graham Morant, a self-styled preacher, was the sole beneficiary of his wife Jennifer's $1.01 million insurance policies. Jennifer Morant, who had chronic back pain as well as anxiety and depression, was found dead in her car in 2014, with a gas-powered generator and a note requesting no resuscitation. Graham Morant was found guilty in October of counseling suicide, and aiding in suicide in helping his wife purchase the generator.

Graham Morant was sentenced to 10 years in prison for counseling his wife to take her life, and six years for aiding in her death. The sentences will be served concurrently.

Prosecutors said that Morant told his wife he would use the payout to build a religious commune on Australia's Gold Coast as a haven for a biblical rapture he expected.

"You took advantage of her vulnerability as a sick and depressed woman," Justice Peter Davis said at the sentencing in Queensland Supreme Court in Brisbane. "You counseled your wife to kill herself because you wanted to get your hands on the $1.4 million [in Australian dollars]. Your general financial position was such that $1.4 million was a very significant sum, as it would be to most people. You have not shown any remorse for the offenses you have committed."

Davis added that the case was the first case of its kind in Australia to end in a conviction.