An Horry County man charged with killing his wife will spend time in prison, though not nearly as much as prosecutors had hoped. Asghar Eliaderani was found guilty today of involuntary manslaughter, the lowest of the three charges he faced.
Eliaderani will get five years in prison as a non-violent offender. He was originally indicted for murder and could have received a life sentence.
The jury deliberated for at least 12 hours, the longest that attorneys on either side could ever remember a jury being out without resulting in a hung jury.
Eliaderani was charged with strangling his wife, Farrah Abassi, at their Socastee convenience store in March of 2008. Prosecutors say it was a case of domestic abuse.
Defense attorneys argued there was no evidence of abuse and that Abassi died of cardiac arrest. The jury ruled it was involuntary manslaughter, which implies reckless disregard for another's life.
Eliaderani showed no emotion as the verdict was read, but later broke out in tears while addressing the judge during sentencing. Judge Steven John told Eliaderani that to argue, fuss and fight is no life for the couple's children. He gave Eliaderani the maximum sentence.
After the sentencing, NewsChannel 15 spoke with Assistant 15th Circuit Solicitor Brad Richardson about the verdict. "We're pleased the defendant is being made to answer for killing Farrah Abassi. We were confident in the case, confident in the indictment. We certainly appreciate the jurors' hard work in this." Richardson says the couple's teenage children hoped for a different resolution, but are pleased with the guilt and the maximum sentence.
Russell Long, Eliaderani's attorney, said he agreed with the judges sentence. "When you have a client that's faced with murder and you get a jury that spends the kind of time they spend on this case and they treated it very seriously, and to find him not guilty of murder, I have to be happy with that."
Eliaderani will be eligible for parole after serving one year and three months or 25 percent of his sentence.
To leave a comment, scroll down and click on "post a comment."
