Gardener sentenced to seven years for brutal stabbing of elderly employer and tenant
Published:Sunday | March 23, 2025 | 10:04 PMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
A gardener who viciously stabbed his elderly employer and her tenant multiple times in a fit of rage was sentenced to seven years and one month in prison on Wednesday – just a day before his 60th birthday.
Roy Simpson, a long-time employee of the now 89-year-old retired nurse, attacked her and her tenant at their Norbrook home in St Andrew on April 6, 2020.
The elderly woman claimed Simpson assaulted her after she resisted his attempt to pull down her trousers, but he denied this, instead blaming the attack on an argument over grooming her dog.
On Wednesday, Justice Leighton Pusey handed down the sentence in the Home Circuit Court, ordering Simpson to serve seven years and one month for two counts of wounding with intent and two years for indecent assault. The sentences will run concurrently.
BRUTAL ATTACK AT NORBROOK HOME
According to the prosecution, Simpson arrived for work that morning and was allowed inside. However, he reportedly disregarded his employer’s instructions not to follow her into the house. Once inside, he reportedly grabbed her from behind and attempted to pull down her trousers.
When she resisted, according to the prosecution, Simpson pulled a knife and stabbed her multiple times in the chest, right breast, and left arm. As she screamed for help, her female tenant rushed to her aid, only to be attacked as well. The tenant tried to flee but fell, and Simpson pounced, stabbing her in the chest, breast, and shoulder.
Despite her injuries, the tenant managed to escape, lock herself in her room, and call the police. Simpson fled the scene but was later found at the Grants Pen Police Station, where he was identified by the victims and arrested.
DEFENCE: A FIT OF RAGE OVER A DOG BITE
During sentencing, Simpson’s attorney, Delpharine Golding Jenkins, argued that the attack was not premeditated. She claimed her client acted out of anger after his employer ordered him to clip her dog’s nails – a task outside his usual duties.
Simpson, she said, was hesitant because the dog disliked him. Despite his reluctance, his employer allegedly thrust the dog and nail clipper at him. The dog bit and scratched Simpson, causing him to drop it, which reportedly enraged his employer, leading to a heated exchange.
“My Lord, he said the complainant became very enraged at him for dropping the dog and hurled hurtful and degrading insults,” Jenkins told the court.
“In the heat of the moment, he lost control and reacted, using the dog nail clipper in his hand – not a knife from his waist.”
Regarding the indecent assault claim, the attorney said Simpson admitted to grabbing the elderly woman’s pants but insisted it was unintentional. He also claimed the second victim was injured while trying to restrain him.
JUDGE WEIGHS THE EVIDENCE
While acknowledging Simpson’s long history of employment with the victim, the judge emphasised that he had the option to leave rather than resort to violence. However, Justice Pusey accepted the defence’s argument that the attack was not premeditated and resulted from a “momentary loss of memory”.
In calculating the sentence, the judge considered the victims’ impact statements, Simpson’s age, his previously clean record, the severity of the injuries, and the nearly three years he had already spent in custody.
Despite his lawyer’s plea for a non-custodial sentence, Simpson will now serve his time behind bars, marking a grim milestone just before his 60th birthday.