A JEALOUS man who injured his former partner with a meat cleaver is to be sentenced for grave and criminal assault after a jury failed to reach a verdict on the more serious charge of attempted murder.
Luis Abreu Dos Santos denied trying to kill the woman in their St Helier flat in October after discovering she was in a sexual relationship with another man.
Following a five-day trial in the Royal Court, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous or majority verdict on the attempted murder charge and Dos Santos was formally discharged yesterday afternoon in relation to the offence.
The defendant, who had already pleaded guilty to grave and criminal assault, is now due to be sentenced by the Superior Number of the Royal Court – which convenes for the most serious of offences – on 9 June.
He admitted injuring the woman during a confrontation, but claimed he had never set out to kill her.
During the trial, Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit, prosecuting, said that at the time of the offence the 48-year-old was ‘no longer in a loving relationship’ with the woman and had tried to kill her after reading her phone messages which indicated she thought she might be pregnant with someone else’s child.
Giving evidence on Wednesday, Dos Santos said he only intended to ‘scare’ her when he entered the room armed with a meat cleaver and a kitchen knife, and that the woman had indirectly sustained the majority of her injuries after the two became engaged in a physical struggle.
He did, however, admit to hitting her in the face with the back of the cleaver during the incident, in an effort to stop her screaming.
Advocate Mark Boothman, defending, said his client had provided an ‘honest account’ of events – and he reminded the jury that if they could not be sure he intended to kill the woman ‘then the prosecution’s case must fail’.
He said Dos Santos would not have made a 999 call, provided medical assistance, or unlocked the door for the authorities if he was trying to end the victim’s life.
