SURREY (NEWS1130) – A Surrey man who stabbed his wife 126 times before she bled to death in 2009 has lost his appeal.

Sebastiano Damin argued that because of his mental state, he wasn’t guilty of second degree murder.

At the original trial, the court heard how Damin, then 75 years old, had grabbed a steak knife in the kitchen in the middle of the night to attack his wife, Maria Catroppa. Shortly afterwards, Damin tried to take his own life.

In his defence, Damin said he was depressed, and a doctor backed that up, saying the depression affected his thought processes.

But the judge at that trial concluded Damin knew what he did and why he did it, and that his actions were deliberate and focused.

The court of appeal agrees, saying someone in a depressed state can still form the intent to kill.

Catroppa’s death prompted her family to set up a memorial award for victims of domestic violence at Kwantlen College.