Man who tried to kill wife with hammer gets 18.5 years

Viacheslav Ivanov was indicted and eventually convicted of four offenses that comprised an escalating pattern of violence that occurred after his wife had asked for a divorce.

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK
Bibi netanyahu (photo credit: JPost Staff)
Bibi netanyahu
(photo credit: JPost Staff)
The Tel Aviv District Court Tuesday sentenced Viacheslav Ivanov to 18.5 years in prison for a string of violent offenses against his wife, culminating in an attempt to beat her to death with a hammer.
Ivanov was indicted and eventually convicted of four offenses that comprised an escalating pattern of violence that occurred after his wife had asked for a divorce.
In the final act of violence, Ivanov forced his wife to undress at knifepoint, took photographs of her, threatened to kill her and then kicked her and beat her with a hammer, fracturing her skull and multiple bones.
The couple’s daughter called the police, an act that saved the woman from certain death, the judges wrote.
Since his arrest, Ivanov has denied the charges against him. He told police that he was holding a hammer over his unconscious wife because he was afraid she was about to attack him.
The defendant also told the court that his wife was a prostitute, an argument the judges rejected as being without a shred of evidence.
In sentencing Ivanov to 18.5 years, the judges wrote that the severity of the violence deserved a harsh punishment.
Judges rejected the defense’s plea for a lighter sentence on the grounds of Ivanov’s age, which was 58 at the time of the attempted murder.
“The acts for which the defendant has been convicted are shocking in their severity.
They are evil, cruel and unusual, and in our view they justify the maximum penalty,” the judges wrote.
“This was animal behavior towards the plaintiff that occurred over a period of time, and included verbal and physical abuse to the plaintiff, her property and those around her.”
In addition to the prison term, Ivanov was ordered to pay the plaintiff compensation of NIS 250,000.