Man murdered wife at home in row over affair on New Year's Day

A man who murdered his wife in a knife attack at their home faces life in prison.

Mompati Dodo Isaacs, 39, said he believed his spouse cheated on him as he repeatedly stabbed her on the head, neck and body at their home in Craigleith Avenue, North Berwick, on New Year’s Day last year.

Keotshepile Naso Isaacs, 33, – known as Naso – earlier told her attacker: “I love you till the coffin drops.”

Isaacs had denied murdering his wife claiming that at the time he was suffering from “diminished responsibility” which can lead to a conviction for the lesser offence of culpable homicide.

But a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh rejected that and convicted Isaacs of murder.

A judge told him: “There is only one sentence which it will be open to me to impose and that will be a life sentence.”

Lady Ross adjourned sentencing for the preparation of a background report on Isaacs and remanded him in custody.

The judge will have to fix a minimum term, known as a punishment part, that he must serve before he can seek to apply for release on parole.

Lady Ross said that Botswana-born Naso was murdered in her own home.

“That was a place where she should have been safe,” she said.

“She died at the hands of a person with whom she should have been safe.”

The judge told Isaacs that he killed his wife out of anger and jealousy.

Lady Ross said of the victim: “She was a mother to three boys. They are still young and have experienced great loss.”

She added that Nosa had a responsible and valuable job as a carer and support worker, and said that her life being cut short at the age of 33 was tragic.

‘Sad and pathetic’ man

During the trial, the court heard that Isaacs believed Naso was having an affair with a colleague, which he denied.

Isaacs believed that in the early hours of the morning on January 1, 2024, Naso had been texting the man and claimed this prompted him to arm himself with a knife.

During the fatal attack on his wife, Isaacs, who had been drinking, pushed her onto a bed and held her down.

Defence counsel Gareth Jones KC said that Isaacs has a history of mental illness and was a “sad and pathetic” man who could not cope with his wife’s infidelity.

Advocate depute Ali Murray, for the Crown, maintained that the evidence showed that Isaacs was a murderer whose mental health was good at the time of the killing.

The court heard that Isaacs came to the UK before the pandemic to work in IT. His mother also believed he would receive better care for his mental health issues. He had been treated for conditions such as anxiety and depression.

He and his wife settled in North Berwick, and Naso worked at a service in the Edinburgh area which supports people with autism.

Isaacs came to believe that she was cheating on him with a colleague who bought her gifts, including a black dress, shoes, and perfume.

The man told the court that there was no affair between them.

During evidence in the trial, a witness said she heard a recording of Isaacs shouting, “Did you sleep with him?” in the hours after the death.

She said she heard Isaacs make the allegations in a voice note posted on a WhatsApp group chat used by work colleagues

She said she awoke on January 1 last year to find she had missed many messages and calls on her phone. She said when she listened to the voice note, she was “shocked”.

The woman told the court: “I could hear Dodo and Naso talking to each other and fighting. It was Dodo shouting at Naso. He was shouting, ‘Did you sleep with him?’ and ‘Unlock your phone.'”

The witness said that the mother of three, Naso, used to speak to her about “infidelity” and how “Dodo used to hit her”.

Mr Jones asked her about a work Christmas party which took place earlier in the festive season and said: “Do you recall Naso being quite close to a male called Victor?” to which the woman replied “Yes.”

After being arrested, Isaacs was examined by psychiatrists who asked him to write about what happened on the fatal night.

He wrote that his wife had allegedly sent the man a “love you” text. Isaacs said he then got the knife. He said: “I held her then I stabbed her in the back of the neck.”

The court heard that Isaacs said her last words were: “I love you.”

Isaacs originally faced further charges. He was accused of engaging in a course of abusive behaviour towards his wife between October 1, 2022, and January 1, 2024, at addresses in North Berwick, during a bus journey to Edinburgh and in Botswana.

It was alleged that he controlled Naso’s income, tracked her mobile phone, sent her abusive text messages and struck her on the head and body.

It was also said that in Botswana, he threw a box of beer at her, slapped her face and kicked her on the body.

He was also accused of behaving in a threatening and abusive way on two occasions on December 13, 2023, by calling the man and making abusive remarks and accusing him of having an affair with Naso.

The Crown withdrew those charges during the course of the trial.

During his closing speech to jurors, Mr Murray told them: “You can be sure that this is murder. His actions were brutal and frankly barbaric. He did not give a damn whether she lived or died.”

Mr Jones, defending Isaacs, maintained that the murderer was unwell at the time of the killing.