Court of Appeal finds 25 year murder sentence unduly lenient
Minimum term of Glenn Nelson increased to 30 years for murder of Krishnamaya Mabo
On 16 January the Court of Appeal increased the minimum term of Glenn Nelson from 25 to 30 years.
In October last year Nelson pleaded guilty to offences of murder and attempted rape and was sentenced at Reading Crown Court to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years. That case was submitted to the Attorney General’s office as possibly unduly lenient. The Solicitor General, Oliver Heald QC MP agreed and referred the case to the Court of Appeal.
Speaking after the hearing the Solicitor General said:
This was an appalling and shocking case where a man set off from home with a settled intention to commit rape. It was the misfortune of Krishnamaya Mabo, a wholly innocent victim, to encounter him. She was murdered so as to prevent her from identifying and giving evidence again Nelson.
Mrs Mabo’s husband served in the Royal Gurkha Rifles for our country. Our thoughts are with him and all the Mabo family because of their tragic loss. It is reassuring that the Court of Appeal has increased the original sentence, which was too lenient.
Background:
On 2June 2013 Krishnamaya Mabo was picking nettles to make a herbal drink. Her husband, a Ghurkha, had served in the British Army since 1990 and the two lived with their children on Arborfield Garrison. Having recently been released from prison, Glenn Nelson was living in a caravan on the Crown Park caravan site nearby. He had gone out with a knife looking for a woman to rape. He approached Mrs Mabo, violently attacked her and with the intention of preventing her from giving evidence against him, he killed her. He was quickly identified as a person of interest to the police. A search of his caravan led to the discovery of evidence.
On 8 October 2013 Glenn Nelson was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years for the murder. 6 years imprisonment concurrent to the minimum term was imposed for the attempted rape. The sentencing judge was Mr Justice Singh sitting in the Crown Court at Reading.
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