Sophia resident Wazim Perreira, who back in 2019 killed his former reputed wife by drenching her with gasoline and setting her alight, has been sentenced to 19 years behind bars, less the time he has since spent on remand.
The offender has been in pretrial custody for the past four years.
On September 9th, 2019 at Sophia, Georgetown, Perreira set Olivia DeFreitas alight. The woman had to be admitted to the Burn Care Unit of the Georgetown Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where she succumbed to her injuries a month later.
The sentence was imposed yesterday by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall, who lamented the premeditated nature of Perreira’s actions toward the young woman whom she noted from the evidence, had tried to sever what was an abusive relationship.
Underscoring the history of abuse meted out to the mother of his two children, the Judge said it was unfortunate that Perreira has forever deprived them of their mother; and himself as he now has a sentence to serve.
Justice Morris-Ramlall bluntly told the offender that his claims of the woman being unfaithful do not justify or in any way excuse his actions.
Among the aggravating factors highlighted by the Court were the fact that the gruesome incident was committed in the presence DeFreitas’ little brother—a minor—who, according to social impact reports, is still traumatised.
The Judge said that regard was also had for the severity of the injuries the young woman sustained, with 34% to 40% of her body having been burnt.
Justice Morris-Ramlall said that as it related to the offence, she found no factors worthy of mitigating the sentence.
She, however, went on to find that in relation to the offender, Perreira’s guilty plea afforded him a 9-year reduction of the 27 years from which she commenced the sentence.
The Judge said she had also considered that the offender was still young at the time and therefore has prospects for rehabilitation. Perreira was 25 years old when he committed the offence.
In the same vein, however, Justice Morris-Ramlall referenced the psychiatric report of Dr. Meenawattie Rajkumar, who had testified that as personality traits; aggression, manipulation and impulsiveness stood out for which she said the offender needs continuous intervention.
Against this, background, Perreira was given no discount to his sentence for his age.
The Judge also deferred to a probation report in which members of his community described him as being of ill repute.
The Court also noted Perreira’s show of remorse in an apology to the family of the deceased whom he asked to forgive him.
But the Judge was swift to point out that the aggravating factors far outweighed the mitigating factors.
To the remaining 18 years after the initial reduction, the Judge added two years for the aggravating factors, but then made a one-year deduction for the mitigating factors.
In imposing the final sentence of 19 years, she also ordered that Perreira continue to be exposed to the prison’s anger management programme.
Background
According to police, on the day in question around 1 pm, Perreira requested to talk to DeFreitas at her Sophia home but she refused. He left the premises but later returned with a container containing gasoline which he threw onto her and set her on fire.
Perreira had tried escaping but the woman’s screams alerted the neighbours, who apprehended him. He was subsequently arrested and charged.
The mother of two succumbed to her injuries on October 10th, 2019 while receiving treatment at the GPHC.
She had sustained second degree burns about her body, including to her face, abdomen, chest and back as a result of the attack.
