Husband sentenced to seven years in jail for stabbing wife

A man who stabbed his wife about her body with a knife in the presence of their children at their home has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Dexter Quammie, originally from Dauphine, appeared at High Court #2 on Tuesday December 13, before Justice Angelica Teelucksingh for his sentencing. He had entered a guilty plea on September 30, 2022.

According to the facts, on Sunday, November 29, 2020 at about 4:30 am, Mrs Quammie received a Whatsapp message on her cell phone requesting that her husband remove the rental vehicle he was driving from where it was parked as it was blocking the road. He went outside to remove the vehicle.

When he returned, he claimed that he had not been blocking the road and lunged at his wife and began choking her in the presence of their children who tried to get help.

About 6:50 am, Quammie, who was 46 at the time, packed his things and left the home at Rillan Hill.

Later that morning, at about 11:00 Mrs Quammie, who had bruises to her neck, lodged a report about the incident at the Questelles Police Station.

That afternoon, at about 4:30 pm, Mrs Quammie and her daughters were sitting on their porch when she realised that her husband had returned. She noted that he appeared drunk and immediately called the Questelles Police Station.

Mrs Quammie was on the left hand side of the porch when she saw her husband approaching with a brown handle, two-foot long, three-seam, four-rivet cutlass. She began to run and he fired a chop at her but missed.

Her daughter, who was in the porch, saw her father with the raised cutlass after she heard her mother’s scream and saw her running.

As she fled Mrs. Quammie fell, landing on her other daughter who was sitting in the porch. She rolled off her daughter’s lap and fell onto the ground of the porch.
Quammie, armed with a silver knife bent over his wife and began stabbing her about her body. Mrs Quammie, who was still on the ground used her hands to fend off the stabs.

When police arrived on the scene, they met the prisoner in the yard. He tried to get away from them as they approached, so Corporal 249 Desbert Douglas, a member of the party discharged one round of ammunition from his service pistol in the air and ordered Dexter not to move. He complied.

On December 23, 2020, during an electronic interview, Quammie admitted to the allegations and confirmed that he was intoxicated on the evening of the incident.
Police records indicate that there was a history of physical abuse between the couple based on previous police reports made.

The prosecution was lead by crown counsel Maria Jackson- Richards and Quammie was represented by Defence Counsel, Adrian Odle.

During mitigation, Odle said his client had shown extreme remorse and had written a letter of apology to the victim which he had intended to read to her. Although she did not accept the letter it was still accepted by the court.

Another mitigating factor was that he had entered a guilty plea and while behind bars has been taking part in rehabilitative activities that involve social skills and church activities as he has re-devoted his life to becoming a Christian.

Justice Teelucksingh began her sentencing at 15 years.

After considering the aggravating and mitigating factors, including the early guilty plea which resulted in a one-third discount of his sentence, it was reduced to nine years.

In addition, Dexter had spent one year, four months and six days on remand and this was reduced from his sentence. His final sentence is seven years, eleven months, and three weeks.

The judge ordered that he be enrolled in an anger management program and educational training offered by the prison.

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