Mentally-ill man to be detained indefinitely for stabbing his father to death

A mentally-ill man who stabbed his father to death while he lay in bed with his grandson, has been sentenced to be detained in prison at the court’s pleasure, with a review after five years.

Clinton Cambridge, the 26-year-old Old Montrose resident who has a history of mental illness and criminal convictions for gun and drug possession, pleaded guilty to manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility in relation to the death of his father, 52-year-old Clint Boucher, who succumbed to multiple stab wounds to the chest.

Justice Rickie Burnett handed down the sentence from the #2 High Court on Friday, August 4, four years after Cambridge was initially charged.

Before handing down the sentence, Justice Burnett reviewed the facts of the case where the court heard the details that led to Boucher’s death on July 14, 2019 when Cambridge went to his father’s Mala Village home in Sion Hill.

At around 10 pm, Cambridge and his father were in the bedroom lying on the bed with Cambridge’s nine-year-old nephew between them. The nephew was awakened by the prisoner jumping on the bed and the father told Cambridge to behave and stop jumping on the bed.

It was at this time that Cambridge left the bedroom and returned with a small brown handled knife and proceeded to stab his father repeatedly with one stab landing in his upper-left chest area. The nephew retreated under the bed and he saw Cambridge dragging his father’s body toward the outside of the house.

Clint Boucher

Boucher’s mother who was on vacation in the country at the time, heard the commotion sometime around 11 pm. She opened her window and saw Cambridge, dressed only in boxers, dragging his father’s body outside. She called out to Cambridge who responded, “Somebody come help the man, he bleeding out to death.”

Boucher’s mother called out to the little boy which prompted Cambridge to go back into the house to call the boy. He came from under the bed and Cambridge told him his grandfather was outside bleeding. The boy ran to his great-grandmother crying profusely and told her what had happened. Police were then called. When they arrived at the scene, Cambridge told them, “Ah man break in the house and kill me daddy”.

The boxers Cambridge wore at the time were stained with blood and a knife found in the grass in the yard.

Justice Burnett read from the social inquiry court submitted to the court where Cambridge’s grandmother said she had warned her son against allowing Cambridge to come to the house as she believed he was “mentally sick”. The court also heard from the report that Cambridge had attempted to shoot his father, and members of the community intervened and warned him against allowing the youth to live with him.

Cambridge had been evaluated on numerous occasions by personnel at the Mental Health Services and from a December 19, 2021 psychiatric report, the court heard how the prisoner had warned his father that something was going to happen, owing to the favouritism Cambridge believed his father showed to his sister.

From as far back as 2015, when he had been incarcerated, Cambridge exhibited symptoms of mental illness including delusions and the belief that he could read people’s minds. He had been diagnosed with Bipolar I and upon his release from prison in April 2019, he had been ordered to have follow-up care, however, Burnett revealed that the prisoner did not keep up with his medication as prescribed.

Cambridge’s lawyer, Shirlan Barnwell, in plea mitigation, submitted to the court that with proper supervision and treatment there is no real danger for repetition of violence.

Justice Burnett said “with no clear sentencing guidelines to assist” the court will adopt the precedent from the case of Jurani Baptiste, a 25-year-old Sandy Bay man who killed a nurse in 2016 while experiencing a psychotic episode.

As such, he sentenced Cambridge to be held in prison at the court’s pleasure and after five years, he will return to court to be evaluated as to whether he can safely be released back into society. During his detention he is to continue to receive medical care for his mental condition. If after five years, he is not fit to be released, he will be re-evaluated every two years until court is satisfied he can be released.