A Toronto man who fantasized about his aunt and killed her was sentenced to life in prison.
Superior Court Justice Rita-Jean Maxwell handed 28-year-old Shayne MacDonald a life term in prison with the possibility of parole for the brutal stabbing death of his aunt, 38-year-old Sarah Vermelhudo. MacDonald was found guilty and convicted of second-degree murder and attempted murder of Maria Vermelhudo, Vermelhudo’s mother.
“This was a particularly brutal killing. The attack was extreme. She had defensive wounds, so did not die immediately. She fought. She struggled, she suffered,” said Maxwell during the sentencing hearing, according to the Toronto Star.
Around 8 pm on Dec. 16, 2016, the defendant arrived at the victim’s home, which she shared with her mother, to watch a scheduled movie with Vermelhudo. Soon after, the victim’s mother heard her daughter’s scream from the third floor of the home, which startled other family members.
According to prosecutors, MacDonald had stabbed Vermelhudo nine times in her chest, back, and abdomen with a 12.5 cm pocket knife before stabbing her in the neck and severing her jugular veins. As Maria attempted to come to her daughter’s aid, the defendant pulled her great aunt by her hair before stabbing her twice in the back. However, Maria Vermelhudo survived the violent ordeal and rushed to a nearby hospital after her partner disrupted the defendant.
MacDonald fled the scene and was arrested three days later at a bus stop along the intersection of Dundas and Bathurst streets.
During the trial, MacDonald’s defense lawyers, Iryna Ryvutsky and Nicolas Pham, argued their client suffered from a mental disorder. They claimed the defendant thought he was in danger as he experienced a psychotic episode upon entering the home. On the other hand, prosecutors argued MacDonald had long fantasized about having sex with a dead body. Hence, he zoomed in on his aunt to fulfil that fantasy by killing her and sexually assaulting her corpse.
“Violence and death were both a means to an end and part of the sexual act itself. Mr. MacDonald’s ideal sexual act was to have sex with a dead or dying person. Mr. MacDonald has a documented history of having sexual fantasies involving family members and violent thoughts. His longstanding interest in violence and death is concerning,” said Maxwel, reported Global News.
The judge ordered MacDonald to be eligible for parole after serving 14 years, even though prosecutors asked for parole ineligibility for 20 years.
Leave a Reply