A Mckies Hill man who bit his ex-girlfriend’s ear during an attack has been sentenced to five years in jail.

Alex Cupid, 25 pleaded guilty to two charges of maliciously wounding his ex-girlfriend earlier this year.

Cupid re-appeared in the Kingstown Magistrate Court (KMC), on October 12, in relation to charges of maliciously wounding Hager Miller of Ottley Hall on two different occasions.

The defendant was charged that on February 15, 2022 at Kingstown, he maliciously wounded Miller.

He was also charged that on July 12, 2022 he maliciously wounded Miller at her home in Ottley Hall.

The defendant originally pled not guilty to the first charge when he appeared before the magistrate on February 23; and also pled not guilty on the second charge when he appeared in court on July 18.

However, at his trial last Friday Cupid changed both pleas to guilty.

The court heard that Cupid and Miller had been in a common law relationship for four years. During that time, she made several reports about Cupid’s behaviour towards her.

As a result, she ended the relationship.

On February 15, she was at her workplace when she messaged Cupid and told him to collect a jacket he had left at her house. During the conversation Cupid told her that he would go to her home to collect the jacket and she said no.

About 6:00 p.m on the day in question Cupid arrived at her work place and they began argue. Miller refused to hold a conversation with him and he got aggressive and forced himself onto the compound, escaping a security guard who tried to stop him.

Cupid approached Miller, held onto her and bit her on her ear.

When she finally got away, blood was running from her ear. Police were called in and Cupid was cautioned and charged.

The defendant’s other offence was around 8:00 p.m on July 12 this year. Miller was at home when she heard Cupid outside calling her.

When she checked, he pushed her away and entered the kitchen. The two started arguing  and Cupid went towards Miller and started to cuff her in her face. She tried to get away from him but he hit her until her face was bleeding.

Cupid stayed at the house that night because Miller was afraid of him. In the morning she was able to get away from him and reported the matter to the police.

Miller was present during the hearing and broke down in tears when she began to explain the manipulative behaviour of her ex-boyfriend.

She said the defendant likes attention, is very controlling, and would follow her if she goes somewhere.

She said he has also made threats on her life and even said to her, “ I will kill you.”

Senior Magistrate, Rickie Burnett said in determining the sentencing that the court paid regard to certain features in the case. He said the offences were committed in circumstances where there was serious risk of harm and of personal injury to Miller.

He also took into account the injury to Miller’s ear, which was about 3 cm in length based on the report on the injury form.

“This must have resulted in pain, stress and anxiety to the virtual complainant,” Burnett said.

In addition, the Senior Magistrate said the court also paid attention to the places where the offences occurred, at Miller’s work place which is a public place, and at her home where Cupid forced himself into her kitchen.

Burnett also took into consideration Miller’s statement that she allowed Cupid to sleep at her home because she was fearful of him.

The absence of any reasonable excuse or justification for the conduct of the defendant was also taken into consideration.

In regard to the aggravating factors, the magistrate said the defendant had previous convictions.

Apart from that, he used violence towards Miller and damaged her property as well.

Another aggravating factor was that although the court previously imposed a custodial sentence on Cupid for harassing Miller, it appeared as though this didn’t deter him in any way.

The nature of the injuries was taken into consideration as well.

“With regard to the mitigating factors, I’m not seeing any,” Burnett said.

The magistrate sentenced the defendant to three years in prison on the charge of wounding in February, and two years for the charge in July. Both sentences will run consecutively, which means Cupid will serve a total of five years in jail.

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