Gough admits to death of girlfriend
Jeremy Gough admits he caused his estranged girlfriend’s death but maintains he has no recollection of stabbing the mother of his children in the back 24 times.
“I have no clue where the knife came from,” he said. “I have no memory of having a knife in my hand.”
The 41-yearold took the stand in his own defence in Superior Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Wednesday and said he attacked Jessica Scanlon, striking her several times in the head with a small wooden bat known as a fish bonker, after she told him she was moving in with another man and leaving Niagara.
“I snapped. It was buildup of emotion and anger and I lashed out,” Gough told the six-man, six-woman jury.
“I just found out she was taking my family away … taking my kids away. A lot of emotions went through me at the same time.” AD{TS5306842}
He testified he must have blacked out at some point during the attack because the next thing he remembered he was standing over her body on the basement floor, the bloody fish bonker in his right hand.
“I stepped back and there was blood everywhere,” he said.
Gough, who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder, said he has blacked out several times in the past when he has been “under anger and emotional distress.”
Scanlon, 29, was found dead in the basement of her Chetwood Street home in St. Catharines on Feb. 23, 2015. She had been bludgeoned and stabbed 24 times.
In his opening address to the jury, defence lawyer John Lefurgey said his client had wanted to plead guilty to manslaughter, but that the Crown would not accept the plea to the lesser offence.
“Mr. Gough admits he is guilty of the unlawful death of Jessica Scanlon.”
At issue, he explained, is whether the murder was a planned and premeditated act or if the crime was the result of a “sudden impulse.”
“Did you leave the house that morning with the intention of killing Jessica?” Lefurgey asked his client.
“No. I did not,” Gough replied. “I felt we could still salvage (the relationship) if she was willing to work with me.”
Court was told Scanlon had ended her 10-year relationship with Gough about a month before she died.
“I didn’t understand why she wanted me to leave,” the defendant said. “I was very upset.”
He said he tried on multiple occasions to reconcile with Scanlon, but she refused.
In a series of Facebook messages posted in early February between Scanlon and the defendant, Gough continued to profess his love.
“I love you and you’re treating me like yesterday’s garbage,” he wrote. “You tore my heart out, Jess. I wanted to marry you and you shut down on me and asked me to leave. My heart is crushed.”
Gough said he had no idea Scanlon had recently started a relationship with another man, a man who had previously played on his baseball team.
After attacking Scanlon, Gough drove to a nearby Tim Hortons, washed his hands and purchased some food.
He later removed the clothes he was wearing and disposed of them, as well as the fish bonker.
He also sent Scanlon a message on Facebook.
“I sent it hoping she wasn’t dead,” he said. “When I got no response, I assumed she was.”
The trial continues today before Judge Joseph Henderson.