-as judge emphasises prevalence of domestic violence, need for deterrence

AFTER more than two decades on the run, 53-year-old Gautier Jerome Fernandes of Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast, was, on Tuesday sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 2002 murder of his estranged partner, 22-year-old Taijwantie “Roshanie” Sooklall.

 

Justice Zamilla Ally-Seepaul, in handing down the sentence at the High Court in Demerara, said the punishment must reflect the heinous and violent nature of the crime, stressing that the court was duty-bound to send a strong message of deterrence against gender-based violence.

The judge noted that one of the aggravating factors in the case was that the parties were living together in a common-law union, placing the offence within a domestic violence context—a particularly serious aggravating factor.

 

“Domestic violence is, unfortunately, a very real and very common problem in this country. Too many women continue to lose their lives at the hands of their partners,” Justice Ally-Seepaul said.

 

She emphasised: “The message must be clear: this kind of violence within the home and relationships will not be tolerated or excused. People must find ways to settle their disagreements without turning to violence, because once violence begins, it all too often ends in tragedy and death.”

 

According to the judge, Fernandes used a knife to attack his partner, causing serious injuries to her vital organs before fleeing the scene, demonstrating a blatant disregard for her life.

 

“After seeing what he had done to Sooklall, Fernandes did nothing to help her. He did not take her to the hospital, he did not call for assistance, and he did not stay to try to render assistance. Instead, he fled the scene without any consideration for the life of Sooklall.”

 

The judge highlighted the devastating impact Fernandes’ crime has had on Sooklall’s children and family, noting that it has deprived her offsprings of their mother.

 

She further stated that there were no mitigating circumstances applicable to the offence. She explained that the nature of the killing was wholly unjustified, leaving no room for any factor to lessen its gravity or diminish the convict’s responsibility.

The judge also remarked on Fernandes’ conduct while evading justice, noting that he “showed a bold willingness to escape the law and accountability,” including starting a new family during the time he was on the run.

 

Justice Ally-Seepaul noted that Fernandes has shown no genuine remorse for his actions, merely asking for another chance to return to his family, which demonstrated his selfishness.

She added that he attempted to shift blame onto the woman he killed, going so far as to describe her behaviour as “terrible,” claiming that she neglected their children, left the home untidy, drank alcohol excessively, and failed to prepare meals for him.

 

“The court condemns these attempts to shift responsibility,” she declared.

 

The judge set a base sentence of 30 years for Fernandes.

 

In considering mitigating factors, the judge noted that Fernandes had no prior convictions, entered an early guilty plea, and had a satisfactory prison conduct record, resulting in a one-year reduction.

 

She added three years for aggravating factors, bringing the base sentence to 32 years.

 

While acknowledging his guilty plea, the judge described it as “tactical” and deducted seven years, rather than granting the full one-third reduction typically allowed. As a result, Fernandes’ final sentence was 25 years in prison, minus time already served on remand.

 

Fernandes had earlier pleaded guilty to slashing Sooklall’s throat sometime between January 26 and 27, 2002, at Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

 

At the time, Sooklall had left their common-law relationship of six years—during which they had three children—after years of abuse and was living with her brother.

 

On the night of the murder, Sooklall was walking home with a friend when Fernandes ambushed her on a dirt road, killing her and injuring her companion.

 

He fled the scene and successfully evaded police for 20 years until his arrest in June 2022 at Onderneeming, Region Two, where he was preparing to get married.

 

Police later confirmed that investigators were able to secure a confession in which Fernandes admitted to killing Sooklall and injuring her friend, Williams.

 

STIFF PENALTY

In urging a stiff penalty, State Counsel Christopher Belfield, assisted by State Counsel Praneta Seeraj and State Counsel Nelissa Peterkin, argued that the killing was not a sudden act of passion, but a calculated and violent ambush.

 

They told the court that Fernandes “strategically hid and viciously attacked Sooklall by slicing her throat with a knife he had concealed in his pants” after she refused his demands to return home.

 

The prosecutors further asked the judge to consider Fernandes’s deliberate evasion of justice for two decades, stressing that it showed a clear unwillingness to accept responsibility:

“It is the prosecution’s humble contention that such extensive efforts to evade the reach of law enforcement and a blatant denial of the crime committed on his own wife, even 20 years after hiding, signals a blatant and unequivocal refusal to accept responsibility for his actions.”

 

The prosecutors also tied the case to the broader issue of femicide and gender-based violence in Guyana. “The state acknowledges the prevalence and ever-increasing and uncontrollable killing of females by their male partners,” the trio told the court.

 

They stressed the seriousness of the problem, stating: “This plague of violence and resulting killings represents a scary and daunting increased threat to the safety and well-being of women.”

 

Belfield, Seeraj and Peterkin urged the judge to impose a strong sentence as a warning to others.

“The state urges the court to make an example of Fernandes, to send a strong message to men in Guyanese society that this behaviour is completely intolerable and unacceptable by society, the law and the judiciary.”

 

They concluded by urging Justice Ally-Seepaul to impose the maximum sentence possible, stating Sooklall’s death was “violent and agonising” and deserved the full weight of the law.

 

SOME FORM OF MERCY

In his defence, attorney Adrian Thompson argued that Fernandes’s early guilty plea and cooperation with the police should be treated as mitigating factors.

 

He noted that his client did not waste judicial time, having pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity, and asked that Fernandes be credited for the period already spent in pre-trial custody.

 

“We are asking the court to consider a reduction for his remorse. He has no prior convictions and a good prison report,” Thompson submitted, urging the court to refrain from imposing the maximum penalty.

 

“In essence, I am asking the court to measure some form of mercy and justice as a balance on the scale.”

 

I’M SORRY

Fernandes addressed the court directly, expressing remorse for his actions.

 

“I just want to apologise to the court for whatever happened. I didn’t mean to do what I have done,” he said. “I am sorry, and I am asking the court to please give me another chance in society.”

 

He emphasised his regret and pleaded for leniency, noting that he wished to make amends and reintegrate into the community.

 

A probation report, which noted that Fernandes told the probation officer the killing was not premeditated, was submitted to the court.

In the report, Fernandes stated that Sooklall had left him and their children to go “sporting” and that during a confrontation she pulled a knife on him.

 

He claimed that a struggle ensued after Sooklall refused to return home, during which she was fatally wounded.

 

The report also revealed that Fernandes later established another relationship, fathering two more children.

 

Despite these mitigating factors, Justice Ally-Seepaul said the violent manner of Sooklall’s death and Fernandes’s long evasion of justice required a lengthy custodial sentence.