The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN who admitted trying to kill his ex-girlfriend by stabbing her at her home in 2022 appeared in the Supreme Court yesterday for sentencing submissions.

The defence called for a seven-year sentence, while prosecutors sought a term of 15 to 20 years.

Jermaine Laing, 27, appeared before Justice Jeannine Weech Gomez for sentencing on an attempted murder charge.

Laing attempted to stab and kill his 32-year-old ex-girlfriend outside her residence around 9pm on April 24, 2022.

A probation officer told the court that on the night of the incident, Laing overheard the complainant on the phone with a male friend.

When he confronted her, he claimed this was the reason they had broken up.

Laing lunged at the complainant’s throat with a knife, but she managed to avoid the attack.

A struggle followed, during which the complainant’s sister intervened and struck Laing with a bucket.

At some point during the struggle, the complainant was stabbed in the left hand. The injury later required stitches.

Laing reportedly managed to wriggle out of his shirt and escape.

Police later recovered the knife used in the incident.

The probation officer said Laing contacted the complainant after the stabbing to apologise for his actions and pleaded with her not to die.

However, he later contacted her again by text and told her he hoped she would die.

Laing subsequently tried to salvage their relationship, but the complainant maintained that it was over.

The probation officer said people who knew Laing described him as quiet, reserved, articulate, smart and kind and expressed shock when they learned of the charge against him.

They asked the court to be lenient, claiming imprisonment would cause him to deteriorate.

While the complainant did not indicate what punishment she wanted Laing to receive, her sister recommended incarceration.

The probation officer said Laing pleaded guilty at the outset of the trial and that the complainant suffered no long-term injuries.

Defence attorney Damian White said his client’s guilty plea was a mitigating factor because it spared the court a lengthy trial.

Mr White described Laing as relatively young, childless, a contributor to society and someone who had no previous convictions. He also said his client was remorseful.

Mr White described the case as a domestic matter that “got out of control”.

The defence recommended a seven-year prison term, with a one-third reduction for Laing’s guilty plea. Mr White acknowledged that the prosecution was seeking a substantially longer sentence.

He said Laing attended anger management classes while on release in connection with the case.

Mr White said his client was not running away from punishment, but argued that the punishment should be tempered with mercy.

The defence argued that Laing fell at the lower end of the sentencing spectrum and pointed out that no firearm was used.

Prosecutor Davina Pinder, however, called for a sentence of between 15 and 20 years.

Ms Pinder described the defence’s seven-year recommendation as “a slap in the face of Justice” and argued that anything below 12 years would be unduly lenient.

Mr White disagreed.

Ms Pinder said Laing was outside the complainant’s home with two knives on the night of the incident.

She said the complainant tried to run away, but Laing caught her, choked her and attacked her with a knife. The prosecution said the woman was stabbed in the arm and hand.

The prosecution also claimed Laing admitted to police that he had tried to kill the complainant.

Laing reportedly told authorities that he had caught the complainant cheating. According to the prosecution, he told police he intended to kill her by slitting her throat, keep her in his memories and then kill himself by jumping into a canal.

Ms Pinder disputed that Laing had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, saying he did so only in April, shortly before his trial was scheduled to begin.

Although she acknowledged that the plea spared the court a trial, she argued that the aggravating factors far outweighed that consideration.

Ms Pinder cited the seriousness of the offence, the planning involved and the allegation that Laing had stalked the complainant before the stabbing.

She also pointed to the prevalence of domestic violence against women and asked that Laing’s sentence send a strong message that such behaviour was unacceptable.

Laing returns for sentencing on September 24.

Valentino Bowe also served as a prosecutor.