Barataria man imprisoned for 16 years attempted murder of pregnant girlfriend

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago: A Barataria man was arrested and sentenced to 16 years of imprisonment for the attempted murder of his 4-month pregnant girlfriend over the paternity of the unborn child.

The police stated that the accused was recognised as Sherwin Cadore. He was a resident of Malik at Barataria. As per reports, he was in a relationship with his girlfriend since June, 2013.

A case was filed against Cadore by the victim, whose identity is not disclosed due to the nature of the case. She told the officers that she was at his boyfriend’s home when the incident took place.

Details of the incident

A victim was residing at Cadore’s home. They were involved in an argument as he returned home from a line at a neighbour’s home. The accused started choking her in the living room, due to which she fell down badly.

In due course of time, the suspect took a cushion from a sofa and tried to suffocate her with it. She jabbed him with her nails and kicked him in order to save herself.

Cadore went outside and arrived back to the room with a bottle of gasoline. He blew out the whole bottle on her four-month pregnant girlfriend and set her on fire.

She immediately ran to a yard to extinguish the fire from a tank overflowing with water. The victim reached her sister’s house in absolutely pitiful condition, where she was taken to the Port of Spain Hospital.

The medical practitioners treated with medical aid for third-degree burns to approximately 65 per cent of her body, including her face, head and hands. The victim spent a terrible two years in the hospital, including some time in a coma.

After recovering a bit, she was discharged from the facility. While being at the hospital, she gave birth to her baby. Shockingly, the paternity test revealed that Cadore was not the father of the child.

A report was already made against him, and the investigating officers managed to arrest him when he arrived at the hospital to treat the burns to his hands and face.

Initially, he confessed his offence when he was interviewed first but later denied it and stated that he was acting in self-defence. Cadore told the police that he was smoking marijuana, along with his girlfriend, who refused to pass marijuana to him.

Such conditions resulted in an argument. He further claimed that the girl took a knife from the kitchen and tried to stab him. He appeared in the High Court before Judge Sherene Murray-Bailey at the end of his judge-alone trial last month.

The Magistrate noted that there were some inconsistencies with the victim’s evidence. She also stated that Cadore’s claims were highly doubtful. The suspect is set on imprisonment for 16 years as an accused of domestic violence.

“Intimate partner violence is prevalent in our society, and not only are the incidents becoming more frequent, but the brazen nature of these attacks has also increased”, Magistrate added.