Man convicted of National Zoo stabbing murder has small legal win
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Jude Wijesinghe was convicted of murdering Tshewang Choden at their shared workplace. (Supplied)
In short
Jude Wijesinghe was convicted of the 2023 stabbing murder of Tshewang Choden and sentenced to 30 years in jail with a non-parole period of 20 years.
Wijesinghe has had the sentence reduced by three and a half years and the non-parole period reduced by two years.
What's next?
The reasons for the decision have not yet been published.
A chef who murdered his co-worker at Canberra's National Zoo and Aquarium has had a small reduction to his jail sentence.
Jude Wijesinghe admitted fatally stabbing Tshewang Choden 14 times after trapping her in a storeroom at the zoo in Canberra in 2023.
ACT Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucy McCallum sentenced him to 30 years in jail, describing the attack as premeditated "murderous violence".
It was one of the ACT's most significant sentences, with Chief Justice McCallum stopping short of imposing life in jail.
She found his mental illness provided "some explanation" for the murder and reduced his moral culpability, but did not warrant a reduction in the overall sentence given the "very serious objective features" of the offence.
Tshewang Choden was found dead in a storeroom at the zoo where she worked. ( ABC News: Luke Stephenson )
But the 32-year-old appealed against his sentence, arguing the court failed to properly account for his mental impairment when determining his punishment.
The ACT Court of Appeal has now set aside the original sentence, instead imposing a jail term of 26 years and six months.
Wijesinghe's non-parole period was also reduced from 20 to 18 years, meaning he'll be eligible for release in 2041, instead of 2043.
The appeal sat before Justice Darryl Rangiah, Justice Andrew Muller, and Justice Jon White.
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