A Wellington taxi driver who stalked his former wife before stabbing her to death is beginning a life sentence and it will be at least 16 years before he can be considered for parole.
Rajeshwar Singh, 47, was sentenced in the High Court in Wellington on Thursday for the murder of Sarwan Singh in November last year.
Ms Singh had taken out a protection order against her former husband, but he broke into her home and stabbed her multiple times. He later tried to kill himself.
Justice Ronald Young told Singh it was clear that his ex-wife was afraid of him.
"Your wife made it clear she did not wish to be with you. She wanted an independent life, but you could not accept that. You considered that you were entitled to kill her. You had a callous disregard for your wife and her family. The probation officer considered you had no real remorse for the killing."
Logbook entries and his car's GPS showed that Singh stalked his ex-wife and left notes showing the murder was planned and setting out funeral arrangements for the couple.
Justice Young said statements from Ms Singh's family showed that they were struggling to cope with her death.
He said he accepted that Singh was suffering depression and had been severely affected by the death of his only child in 2011.
The judge also jailed Singh for three months, to be served concurrently, for breaching the protection order.
