Convicted murderer David Ricardo Jones will be sentenced on May 24 for killing his ex-girlfriend almost a decade ago.
Madam Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell gave the date on Friday in the No. 4 Supreme Court after hearing sentencing submissions from State Counsel Maya Kellman and defence attorney Marlon Gordon in the matter in which Jones, formerly of Platinum Heights, Thornbury Hill, Christ Church and Hope Land, St Thomas, was found guilty of killing 43-year-old Denise Clarke, on July 25, 2013.
Speaking to the aggravating factors of the offence, Kellman outlined the loss of life, use of a knife, Jones’ unlawful entry into the nursing home where the deceased worked, and the injuries sustained by the deceased.
She recommended a starting sentence of 40 years.
“Denise Clarke was not a faceless person. She was a mother of two children, a sister, a daughter and a friend, and the convicted man certainly knows what it feels like to lose a mother because he lost his at 19 years old; but yet he put her children through this,” the prosecutor said, adding that the court could not gloss over the impact of the loss family Clarke’s family felt.
Speaking to discounts for delays in the matter, she submitted that no more than four years be considered, along with the 2 417 days Jones has already spent on remand. Kellman had noted that Jones had refused to take responsibility for his actions.
Gordon, in his sentencing submissions, had pointed out that a pre-sentence report had shown his client was at a low to medium risk of reoffending and also asked the court to consider the issue of provocation. Based on that, he submitted that two years should be deducted from a starting sentence of 20 to 25 years as well as the time Jones had spent on remand.
Asked whether he had anything to say before the judge’s sentence, Jones stated, “Ma’am, I maintain my innocence.”
Clarke was found in a pool of blood in the waiting room of the Bromswood retirement home at Cave Wood Road, Two Mile Hill, St Michael where she worked as an auxiliary nurse.
