PHILIPSBURG--Myriam Dorofils (39), who was sentenced by the Court of First Instance in June 2019 to five years’ imprisonment and monetary compensation for the victim, saw her penalty increased to eight years on Thursday.
The Appeals Court said it had “unanimously” agreed to impose a higher sentence as it found that the seriousness of the crime was insufficiently reflected in the sentence imposed by the lesser court. The solicitor-general had called for a prison sentence of seven years during the appeal hearing.
Following the lesser court’s judgment, the Appellate Court’s judges also found it legally and convincingly proven that Dorofils had stabbed a male visitor at Lotus nightclub in his chest on April 14, 2019.
The resident of French St. Martin was also ordered to compensate the victim for damages incurred in connection with the stabbing. The Joint Court set the amount at NAf. 11,014, including the cost of medical treatment and a damaged mobile phone.
The Court found the defendant guilty of attempted manslaughter, as the victim was stabbed in his chest with a kitchen knife. In addition to this weapon, the woman was armed with no fewer than four other kitchen knives, a pocketknife and a pair of scissors when she was arrested during a night out at the Simpson Bay establishment. Therefore, she was also sentenced for violation of the Weapon Ordinance.
Video-camera images revealed that the suspect had become involved in an altercation on the dancefloor with two homosexual men who were dancing close to her. This apparently was not to her liking and she pushed one of the men, who then punched her in the face.
A fight with both men ensued, which was stopped by security guards. While the two guards held one of the men down on the floor in a stranglehold the woman stabbed the victim in his chest.
The Joint Court held it against Dorofils that she had visited a busy entertainment venue while she was armed with “an arsenal” of knives and scissors.
As a result of the stab wound the victim had lost his stomach, which has changed the man’s life drastically, “since he will never be able to live a full life again,” the Appellate Court stated in the verdict.
The defendant and her lawyer Safira Ibrahim had claimed Dorofils had acted in self-defence, but the Court dismissed these pleadings and found Dorofils fully accountable for her acts.
In sentencing, the Court took into account that Dorofils has a French criminal record, which mentions several (conditional) sentences for violent crimes and illegal arms possession.
The judges also held it against her that she had displayed a lack of insight into what she had done and had not shown any remorse. “To the contrary: the suspect stated that the victim should have shown respect for her and should not have hit her,” the verdict stated.
