Driving around Hobart with a shortened and fully loaded firearm, Klaus Dieter Neubert just needed a chance meeting with his estranged wife for the opportunity to carry out his long-held murderous plan.
It was May 2015 when he spotted Olga Neubert driving her Peugeot hatchback through the city’s northern suburbs.
Neubert used his Mercedes four-wheel drive to block the path of his wife’s car at an intersection, going on to commit what Tasmanian Supreme Court justice Michael Brett has described as a shocking example of domestic violence.
“In a calm and purposeful manner, you walked towards her car and fired repeatedly into her vehicle,” Justice Brett said to the 75-year-old killer, who sat expressionless in the dock as he was sentenced on Monday to 25 years’ imprisonment for the daylight killing.
The judge described how the Philippines-born victim had been avoiding contact with her husband of 18 years and must have been terrified as she realised his intent.
“You made this decision because of your inability to accept the breakdown of your marriage,” the judge continued.
“You committed these selfish, brutal and callous crimes because you had no other way of exerting control over your wife.”
Neubert fired the fatal shot when he rested the rifle barrel against his wife’s skull and pulled the trigger.
“You brutally executed her in a public area in front of many onlookers.”