Tony Vita jailed for life for murdering wife Marion
A man has been jailed for life for murdering his wife at their home in Glasgow after finding out she was in a relationship with another woman.
Tony Vita, 47, repeatedly stabbed 48-year-old Marion Vita at their house in Baillieston last September.
A jury rejected his claim that she had died in a bizarre accident after falling on the knife during a struggle.
At the High Court in Glasgow, Vita was ordered to serve a minimum of 12 years before being eligible for parole.
Jailing Vita, temporary judge Sean Murphy QC, said: "This is an incredibly sad case and has had tragic consequences for everyone who knew her including you.
"You had lived an exemplary life, but all of that ended when you discovered she was having an affair with another woman."
The judge said the incident was a "truly exceptional case given the unusual circumstances" of what went on.
Vita - who often broke down during his trial in March - showed no emotion as he was led handcuffed to the cells.
During the trial, Vita said he had tried to kill himself after discovering that his wife had been having an affair with 34-year-old Elwira Rumniak for almost a year.
The jury was told that the couple's neighbour, Helen Colquitt, heard three screams just after 20:00 on 20 September last year as she was watching television.
She said the screams were immediately followed by a woman shouting: "No, don't", followed by the sound of someone running upstairs.
In his evidence Vita said he did not realise his wife was injured and said he went upstairs and stabbed himself twice in a failed attempt to end his own life.
But he had no explanation as to why his wife's blood was on the front of the dressing gown he was wearing and on the legs of his glasses.
Detectives who examined the home after the murder found an entry on a calendar in the kitchen for 20 September 2013 which stated: "Marion cheating lesbian whore."
Vita had also cut his wife out of family photographs and smashed a mug which said "home is where the heart is".
Mrs Vita's lover, Ms Rumniak, told the court she had met her at a party in October 2012 and fell in love.
Ms Rumniak told prosecutor Douglas Fairley QC that the couple wanted to set up home together and had talked of adopting a child.
Mrs Vita had been staying in Edinburgh with Ms Rumniak but came home to Baillieston to face her husband after confessing by text to the affair.
In a rage, Vita stabbed his wife four times and then left her to die.
The court heard how the couple's 11-year-old son found her lying dying on the couch.
He told the court: "My mum was unconscious...her lips were quite grey.
"She was not moving at all. She was lying on the sofa, sort of on her side."
The boy said he tried opening his mother's eyes and talking to her before a 999 call was made.
He said that Ms Rumniak had been one of Mrs Vita's "best friends", but that his father had "suspicions" about the true extent of their relationship and he had been aware of his parents arguing.
Police officers who interviewed Vita shortly after the murder said he displayed no grief or sense of loss at the death of his wife.
Prior to sentencing, Brian McConnachie QC, defending, said: "The circumstances disclosed at trial indicate that this incident clearly happened at a time of unimaginable stress, so far as Mr Vita is concerned."
After jailing Vita, Judge Murphy also praised his son adding: "He will have to come to terms with the loss of his mother and the imprisonment of his father."