Life in prison for murderer of Dubai businesswoman Lorna Lim Varona

The appeals court extended the 15-year jail term for the killer of the Filipina businesswoman who was murdered over a debt owed.

A killer who stabbed a businesswoman to death then stashed her body in the boot of her car had his 15-year jail term increased to a life sentence at the appeals court on Sunday.

R A, a 49-year-old Filipino, lured Lorna Lim Varona, 50, to his flat in Al Karama with the promise that he would repay a debt. When the businesswoman arrived, the pair had a heated argument and he stabbed her.

She ran towards a window in an attempt to escape but the killer pushed her out and she fell from the first floor of his flat. R A rushed down to where she landed and stabbed her in the neck until he was sure she was dead, prosecutors told the court.

The killer hid his victim's body in the boot of her car and then abandoned the vehicle in Sharjah Industrial Area 11.

Varona’s body was found by police on August 31 after her husband reported her missing.

Prosecutors charged R A with premeditated murder and asked Dubai Criminal Court last June to hand him the death penalty.

Varona's husband had confirmed in his testimony that R A was in debt to his wife, saying "he owed her money and as a guarantee she kept his passport in her possession", he said in his testimony.

An Emirati police captain also testified that R A had financial disputes with the victim.

During interrogations, the killer said his and his family’s life had been ruined by his victim.

He said his three children had to drop out of school because he could not afford the payments due on the debt he owed Varona.

Prosecutors said he confessed that he had planned her death two weeks before he killed her. In court, however, he recanted his confession.

R A will be deported after completing his jail term after the Dubai Court of Appeal also upheld the deportation order against him.