Victim’s mother unmoved by savage killer’s apology
Man who stabbed partner 69 times in jealous rage awaits sentencing
The Windsor man who committed a brutal domestic killing that stood out for its savagery told his sentencing hearing Wednesday that his memories of that Nov. 1, 2016, morning represent “an ongoing nightmare.”
Thrusting hands into pockets as he stood up before Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance, John Wayne Pierre, 49, spoke briefly and apologetically about the murder of his domestic partner, Lesley Watterworth, 42.
“I’d just like to say, Lesley didn’t deserve this — I’m very sorry for what happened that day.” he said. “I still can’t believe I was capable of doing what I did.
“I am sorry for destroying the family.”
Later, outside the courtroom, the victim’s mother, Veronica Watterworth, was dismissive of Pierre’s expression of remorse.
“It doesn’t mean nothing to me,” she told the Star. “I don’t accept it. I never will.”
Following a trial that included gruesome testimony and crime scene documentation, a jury in September found Pierre guilty of second-degree murder. He faces an automatic life sentence, but the judge must still rule on the length of parole ineligibility, with a range of from 10-25 years.
The Crown is seeking a term of 1518 years before Pierre can first apply for parole, while the defence has asked for a period of 10-13 years. The trial jury was canvassed at the time for its input — half recommended either the 25-year maximum or 20 years, while the other half had no recommendation.
The judge must take both case law and the jury’s recommendations into consideration in her sentence, and even the Crown said the high end of parole ineligibility proposed by the jury was beyond what courts have been imposing in similar cases.
But it shows “they see this as a most serious and troubling case,” said assistant Crown attorney Eric Costaris.
Pomerance said she’ll announce her decision on March 14.
“What gave you the right to take her away?” Veronica Watterworth asked while reading a short victimimpact statement. Speaking to Pierre, she said her church and pastor have told her she must forgive him, “for my sake and yours.” But, she said, she cannot. Both the Crown and the defence told the court that a major aggravating factor was the sheer brutality of the attack on Watterworth. Of the 69 wounds identified at her autopsy, the coroner listed 22 stab wounds to the body, including head, neck and torso, and 25 defensive wounds to the hands. “She was fighting for her life,” said Costaris, adding her screams attracted the attention of her Curry Avenue neighbours. They would later testify to their regret at not having called the police. They said Pierre told them everything was fine — and then it fell quiet. Costaris said the “savage cruelty” of the attack was reflected in the injuries sustained by the victim. As for Pierre, “not so much as a scratch.”
Pierre testified at his trial and admitted to the killing, with the defence arguing the accused man was too intoxicated at the time to know what he was doing. The trial heard the pair had been on a twoor three-day sleepless binge of drinking and taking drugs. Pierre testified that his jealous rage during a heated argument triggered the attack.
Pierre’s behaviour after the attack was described as another aggravating factor, showing what Costaris called “callous indifference” and what even the judge described as “unusual ... perhaps verging on bizarre.”
After the killing, with his girlfriend on the floor dying or already dead, Pierre walked into the living room, had a beer and smoked some marijuana. He then went to a Beer Store, visited a friend, then wandered a bit before going to Caesars Windsor, where security handed him over to Windsor police when he wasn’t able to pay for food and drink. He was arrested Nov. 2 after Windsor police officers forced their way into Watterworth’s apartment.
Arguing for a longer period of parole ineligibility, Costaris said the case “involves the brutal killing of an unarmed woman in her own home at the hands of her domestic partner.” The murder came less than two months after Pierre was charged by police for an earlier alleged assault on Watterworth. Pierre, who has a criminal record dating back to 1988, was awaiting trial in that court case. Defence lawyer Ken Marley asked the judge to take some mitigating factors into account, including his expression of remorse and a statement of a previous partner that he’d never been violent in that relationship. The court heard of the trauma inflicted on Pierre as a child at the hands of a sexual predator and his alcohol and drug abuse.