voiceofreason
Senior News Editor since 2011
https://www.news.com.au/world/pacif...s/news-story/a99afe342510845c3756227388bf7cf3
Husband charged with murdering wife, Australian humanitarian worker Jennifer Downes
Two weeks after an Australian humanitarian worker was found dead in her family home, the woman’s husband has been charged with her murder.
August 11, 2019
The husband of an Australian aid worker, killed in Fiji late last month, has been charged with her murder.
Jennifer Downes, also known as Jenna Lusaka, was found dead in her family home on July 23.
Mr John, an Australian national originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was hospitalised after the incident in what police suspect was a murder-suicide attempt.
After receiving treatment at a hospital in Suva, Mr John was released to be questioned by police.
He is due to appear in Suva Magistrates Court tomorrow, charged with one count of murder.
Ms Downes worked as a World Food Program logistics expert with the United Nations.
Over the last decade, Ms Downes worked with some of the Pacific’s most remote communities and spent five years working in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She also used to work for Oxfam before moving to the United Nations.
In an interview with the World Food Programme in 2018, Ms Downes was described as having a “good-humoured nature”.
“I’ve worked in humanitarian logistics in both Vanuatu and Australia, while also giving birth to my three beautiful children,” she said.
“Being a mum to three kids under four has only enhanced my logistics capacities. I’m not only living and breathing it for eight hours a day at work; I’m the family logistician for the other 16 hours of the day! They’re really proud of their mamma which makes it even more worthwhile.”
Local police in Suva immediately identified Ms Downes’ husband Henri Lusaka John as the main suspect.
According to local media reports, police have now charged Mr John with his wife’s murder.
Police allege Ms Downes was murdered in a domestic violence incident after her and her husband became estranged.
The couple share three children, all under the age of five, but had recently separated.
Husband charged with murdering wife, Australian humanitarian worker Jennifer Downes
Two weeks after an Australian humanitarian worker was found dead in her family home, the woman’s husband has been charged with her murder.
August 11, 2019
The husband of an Australian aid worker, killed in Fiji late last month, has been charged with her murder.
Jennifer Downes, also known as Jenna Lusaka, was found dead in her family home on July 23.
Mr John, an Australian national originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was hospitalised after the incident in what police suspect was a murder-suicide attempt.
After receiving treatment at a hospital in Suva, Mr John was released to be questioned by police.
He is due to appear in Suva Magistrates Court tomorrow, charged with one count of murder.
Ms Downes worked as a World Food Program logistics expert with the United Nations.
Over the last decade, Ms Downes worked with some of the Pacific’s most remote communities and spent five years working in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She also used to work for Oxfam before moving to the United Nations.
In an interview with the World Food Programme in 2018, Ms Downes was described as having a “good-humoured nature”.
“I’ve worked in humanitarian logistics in both Vanuatu and Australia, while also giving birth to my three beautiful children,” she said.
“Being a mum to three kids under four has only enhanced my logistics capacities. I’m not only living and breathing it for eight hours a day at work; I’m the family logistician for the other 16 hours of the day! They’re really proud of their mamma which makes it even more worthwhile.”
Local police in Suva immediately identified Ms Downes’ husband Henri Lusaka John as the main suspect.
According to local media reports, police have now charged Mr John with his wife’s murder.
Police allege Ms Downes was murdered in a domestic violence incident after her and her husband became estranged.
The couple share three children, all under the age of five, but had recently separated.