A Belleville man who killed his wife in ‘a senseless and brutal domestic homicide’ has been sentenced to 12.5 years, a judge decided on Monday.
Dewayne Vacciana, 42 pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in the stabbing death of Terri-Lynne Thompson, 54 at their home in 2019.
Court heard how Vacciana believed Thompson was the reason his work visa expired or provided immigration with information leading to his deportation to Jamaica.
“That was not correct and she pleaded with the authorities to let him stay in the country,” said Hastings County assistant crown attorney Paul Layefsky. “She would have moved with him.”
He said Vacciana’s nerves were ‘unsettled’ and at some point on the afternoon of Oct 15 ‘he beat and stabbed’ Thompson to death. Vacciana fled to a friend’s house where he told them Thompson was dead. He later took responsibility and admitted what he had done to the police.
Concerned for her wellbeing, court heard Thompson’s son Wayne found his mother’s lifeless body at her home on Cannifton Road.
“I walked into something I can’t ever describe,” Wayne Thompson expressed in his victim impact statement. “I was broken. This has deeply affected me.”
He described many sleepless nights and how he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that prohibits him from being able to work.
“She was amazing – an absolute joy to be around,” he described of his mother. “She cared about us so much and would defend us to the end…She was larger than life.”
He said his mom would take his son for walks to No Frills ‘just to show him off because she was so proud of him.’
His wife Melissa Herman, cousin Jennifer Snider and step-sister Kayla Donovan also described Thomspon as a beautiful, loving woman with a great sense of honour and infectious laugh who was devoted to her family, especially her grandchildren.
“They (grandsons) don’t get to see or feel her love,” Herman expressed. “She would give you the shirt off your back if you needed it.”
‘Thompson would go without so someone else wouldn’t have to,’ Snider agreed. She said her aunt was like a second mother to her adding she will miss her hugs, talks and hearing her day ‘I love you to the moon and back baby.’
“She is unmatched,” said Melissa Rudderham, Thompson’s best friend. “You have taken a piece of me and every single person that loved her that day…This is torture. Losing Terry and going through this entire process have been like living in a nightmare.”
In his address to the court Vacciana said he regrets his actions. When he addressed Thompson as his wife, a family member in the gallery shouted ‘she’s not your wife.’
“I relive it everyday,” he continued. “I can’t believe what I did and the pain I caused so many people. I want them to know I am sorry. She had so much love in her heart and I’ve taken her away from those who loved her.”
Following Vacciana’s statement another family member yelled ‘I hope you rot in hell’ while another person repeatedly called him a ‘coward.’
In handing down his sentencing Superior Court Justice Patrick Hurley said he believed Vacciana was remorseful however he called what happened ‘a senseless and brutal domestic homicide.’
“The victim impact statements were powerful with eloquent descriptions of the love each one had for Ms. Thompson along with the pain, grief and despair they experienced everyday,” he said. “Ms. Thomspon was a vital presence in the lives of many. It is apparent to me that she remains a guiding light for those who knew and loved her, especially her grandchildren.”
Hurley accepted joint submissions from Layefsky and defence counsel Tyler Smith for ‘a lengthy’ sentence term of 12.5 years.
“No sentence that I can impose will be adequate to reflect the loss of one who is so loved and who played such an important role in the lives of her family and friends,” he said.
In coming to his decision, Hurley took into account the mitigating factor that Vacciana ‘accepted responsibility’ thus avoiding a trial ‘sparing family and friends from the gruelling experience of a trial where the result is sometimes uncertain.’
The most significant aggravating factor, Hurley explained, is that Thomspon was his spouse. Hurley said the range of sentencing falls in line with the range of sentences that have been imposed on similar offenders in similar circumstances.
After being given credit for five and a half years time served Vacciana will spend seven years in prison. He was also handed a lifetime weapon’s prohibition along with DNA and non-communication orders. After serving his sentence the federal immigration office will review an order to have Vacciana deported to Jamaica.
“The sentence isn’t long enough for someone who is a murderer,” a family member yelled from the gallery at the end of the proceedings.
