A woman in her early thirties has been ordered to pay $9,000 in compensation after a court convicted her of attacking a retired man with a meat cleaver while he slept in his own home. According to Antigua News Room, Veyella Peters carried out the late-night assault on the man, who is in his sixties, leaving him with serious wounds to his neck and face.
The two had been in a relationship and were living together prior to the attack. Tensions escalated after the man asked Peters to vacate the property following the start of a new job. She refused to leave.
The judge accepted the victim's account that he was asleep at the time of the assault. Medical evidence presented to the court confirmed that the deep cuts he sustained required significant force to inflict.
The court also heard that Peters prevented the man from seeking immediate medical attention in the aftermath of the attack and falsely claimed she was contacting emergency services on his behalf.
Peters maintained she had acted in self-defence and raised allegations of past misconduct against the man. The judge rejected her account entirely, ruling that the attack was deliberate.
