Corriverton resident, Durn Hunt, who last month pleaded guilty to murdering his girlfriend Itashia Frank back in October of 2018, has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars for the crime.
A seemingly apologetic Hunt in his brief but passionate plea for clemency, told Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at his sentencing-hearing yesterday that he was “sincerely sorry” for his actions.
“To Itashia family and to this court, I am very, sincerely sorry, Hunt said, for having taken the woman’s life.
He sought to swiftly add, too, that he had “stopped smoking weed.”
As she had had cause during other sentencing hearings yesterday, Justice Morris-Ramlall told Hunt that his alcohol and drug use were no excuse for the life he took, even as she emphasised that the consumption was self-induced.
In her psychiatric report presented to the court, Forensic Psychiatrist, Dr. Meenawattie Rajkumar said that Hunt had been treated for psychotic behaviour in the past—in October of 2022.
She said that his most recent evaluation back in May, however, saw remarkable improvement in his condition; though she said he does “lack judgement and has poor insight.”
The doctor was clear in her report, however, that Hunt’s “substance induced psychotic disorder [is] in resolution,” but recommends that he continues on medication prescribed and to be seen by the psychiatric department.
His attorney Surihya Sabsook, singled out his mental illness, even as she begged the Judge for leniency.
Prosecutor Muntaz Ali, however, asked the court to consider what he said was the “sheer violence unleashed upon” the deceased at the hands of Hunt, in a “most cruel and blatant manner.”
He also lamented the prevalence of such killings arising in domestic settings, stating that the overriding consideration should be deterrence.
Ali said that the day after the separation, Frank died as a result of a confrontation between her and Hunt.
Referencing the cruelty meted out to Frank, the prosecutor sought to impress upon the Court that she suffered an incised wound to her neck which severed her carotid artery, and evidence of sharp force injuries and compression injuries to her neck.
He recalled, too, that the woman had been submerged in muddy water which ultimately led to her death from asphyxiation due to drowning compounded by a stab wound to the neck as an autopsy revealed.
In delivering her sentencing remarks, Justice Morris-Ramlall lamented what she said was the “cruel and callous,” manner in which Hunt took the woman’s life in broad daylight, with scant regard for the pleas from passersby for him to cease his attack.
In considering all the aggravating circumstances, the Judge said that a base sentence of 30 years was appropriate.
She said, however, that regard had to also be paid to mitigating circumstances such as the early plea and Hunt’s expression of remorse.
Thereafter, she said that the offender would be sentenced to 20 years behind bars, less the time he would have spent on remand awaiting trial.
Background
Hunt, called ‘Rasta,’ formerly of Lot 108 Crane Street, Queenstown, was charged with murdering Frank in Corriverton on Monday, October 15th, 2018.
Ali in presenting the state’s case last month, said that on the morning in question, an argument ensued between the two during which the accused noticed a knife on the kitchen cupboard which Frank was about to grab but he seized it instead.
He said the accused and Frank continued arguing and went out onto the street. He held her and took her to the culvert; however, Frank pushed his hands away and ran and fell into the drain.
The court had heard that Hunt ran behind her and jumped into the drain and stabbed Frank in her neck with the kitchen knife.
Frank began resisting and the accused put the knife on the right side of her neck. As Frank continued resisting, the accused pushed her head down into the muddy drain until she became motionless.
Ali had said that there were several persons who witnessed the incident and who were shouting at the accused to desist from attacking Frank but he paid them no heed.
A post-mortem examination would later reveal the cause of death to be asphyxiation due to drowning compounded by stab wounds to the neck.
Hunt was arrested sitting on the street above the drain while the murder weapon was retrieved from the drain after the woman’s body was removed.
