A refugee claimant from Honduras has admitted to killing his intimate partner in Leamington during a fight that followed his discovery of cellphone communications between her and another man.
David Espinoza Montes, 40, pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder in the Sept. 29, 2022. stabbing death of Shermaine Carling, 33, in their small shared bedroom in a Mill Street rooming house.
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Montes faces a future sentencing hearing at which time the court will hear victim impact statements. Superior Court Justice Joseph Perfetto ordered a pre-sentence report.
Montes gets an automatic life sentence for his crime but the judge must determine how long he remains incarcerated before becoming eligible to apply for parole. For second-degree murder that range is between 10 and 25 years. Assistant Crown attorney Jayme Lesperance told the court the prosecution and defence will make a joint recommendation.
Carling was a mother of two who had immigrated from the Philippines to Canada in 2016 for employment purposes, leaving behind two children in her mother’s care. She was employed at a food processing plant in nearby Wheatley. She provided for her children — shared with her ex-husband, not Montes — by sending money back home to her family.
Earlier on the day she was killed, Carling had driven Montes to a Leamington walk-in clinic where he was provided a prescription, “to assist with stress or anxiety” that had been contributing to poor sleep and mild depression.
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Montes then went with a colleague, who had been with him to provide Spanish-English translation, to their shared place of employment. He left work early to return home to rest. Carling was sleeping in their shared bed at the time and when she woke up after 5:21 p.m. she went to the bathroom, taking her cellphone.
A verbal fight ensued, according to an agreed statement of facts, with Montes having a “prior suspicion that Ms. Carling was in another relationship with another man.” He confronted her “over this suspected relationship or possibly infidelity.” She then confirmed she was communicating with that other individual and then showed Montes the contents of her stored cellphone chats.
“The argument escalated,” according to the agreed statement of facts read out in court by Lesperance.
It was then that Montes grabbed “two different sharp objects” and began stabbing Carling.
It was a brutal attack. According to an autopsy report, the victim suffered 48 stab wounds, with death coming from loss of blood, including major bleeding from injuries to both carotid arteries and her right lung.
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According to investigators, the colleague received a social media message from Montes at 5:24 p.m., that said in Spanish “I kill her.”
Around the same time, Montes exited the rooming house and encountered his landlord, who later told police Montes was “full of blood” and confessed to killing his girlfriend. It was around 5:30 p.m., and Montes “threw himself on the ground.” The landlord called 911 and Montes stayed on the ground until police arrived.
Inside, responding officers with the Ontario Provincial Police discovered the victim in a pool of blood, a pair of bloody scissors next to her head. Also recovered was a large kitchen knife with a broken and bloodied blade.
“David Espinoza Montes is the individual who caused all these stab wounds to Ms. Carling on September 29, 2022,” concludes the agreed statement of facts, signed by Crown and defence lawyers and the accused himself.
“The facts speak for themselves,” defence lawyer Patricia Brown told the judge.
Montes had been examined and was found to be criminally responsible for his actions. Sitting between his lawyer and a Spanish interpreter, he simply and quietly responded: ‘Si’ (yes) to the judge’s questions regarding his understanding of what he was pleading to.
Brown told the court there are also “immigration consequences” to his conviction. Leading up to the time of this offence, Montes was seeking refugee status in Canada and did not have a valid work permit in September 2022.
dschmidt@postmedia.com
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