Brittany Jno-Baptiste has been sentenced to 27 years in prison following calls by the family of the late Wendy Jane Finch for justice and the maximum penalty for the offence.
Jno-Baptiste was charged with the murder of the 66-year-old Piccadilly resident who died on October 4, 2021, after the brutal encounter. However, after her trial started on November 18, 2024, she changed her plea from not guilty of murder to guilty of manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility on December 2
While the maximum sentence for manslaughter is 35 years, Justice Tunde Bakre used a starting point of 34 years, weighing the aggravating factors including the horrific way Finch was killed, the brutality of the offence and the fact that extreme violence was used.
The judge found that Jno-Baptiste’s actions were deliberate in that she entered the woman’s house after being denied a phone call.
The court also took into account the mitigating factors including the convict’s age-in that she was 21 years old when the offence was committed; the fact that she was diagnosed with cannabis-use disorder and cannabis-induced psychotic disorder, which impaired her mental abilities to think rationally, the improvement in her condition since undergoing treatment,; the fact that she has expressed remorse to Finch’s family; and that the act was impulsive (not premeditated).
All these factors brought the sentence down to 30 years, which was then reduced to 27 years after the judge concluded that Jno-Baptiste bore some responsibility for her condition by repeatedly using illegal drugs and the need for retribution for the crime. He gave a 10 percent discount for her guilty plea.
Justice Bakre also ordered that the 1,270 days which the 24-year-old young woman spent on remand awaiting trial would be taken into account. Jno-Baptiste has to remain under psychiatric care of mental health professionals and there will be a review of her sentence after she serves 25 years.
During the sentencing hearing, three of Finch’s family members — her brother Geoffrey Finch, her sister Joanna Finch and her niece Zoe Varrow — all remembered Finch and the impact her death has had on their life.
They all called for justice and the maximum sentence, saying that Finch’s death has left a void in their lives.
Joanna recounted her older sister brushing her hair and carrying her as a child, noting that she missed her humour, activism and antics.
“I am devastated by her death. I can’t get over this experience,” Joanna said before breaking down in tears. “The images of her death remain.”
She suggested that Jno-Baptiste should remain in prison until she is remorseful and should also write letters of apology to those impacted by “this angry and brutal murder against someone she doesn’t know”.
Zoe described her aunt as meaning the world to her, adding that she was one of a kind. A teary-eyed Zoe said watching her mom (Joanna) crumble with grief over her sister’s death is awful.
“She [Finch] deserved so much more than what happened to her,” Zoe told the court.
Geoffrey said Finch was warm-hearted and generous, noting that the pain and loss of her is indescribable, and it was hard to imagine forgiveness when looking at the brutal crime. He said he found out about his sister’s killing on Facebook, which he later confirmed with her son.
In her sentencing brief, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shannon Jones-Gittens recounted the brutal manner in which Finch died-suffering massive blood loss, her hair being pulled out and a pliers lodged in her ear. Finch reportedly also suffered a beating at the hands of Jno-Baptiste.
It was noted that the young woman exhibited strange behaviour leading up to and after the killing. When the police arrived on the scene, she ran from the house with blood on her hands saying “Mammy, a me do um.”
Wendel Alexander, who defended Jno-Baptiste, had insisted that his client was entitled to the full discount for having pleaded guilty, even though it was made just prior to closing arguments.
Alexander emphasized that she had no previous convictions and that she had apologized to the family and the court and during the investigations while being questioned. He had admonished the court to base its sentence based on established case laws and mitigating factors.
Alexander also told the court of his intention to appeal the sentence.
During the proceedings, friends of Finch cried as the family recounted the impact her death has had on their lives, while a relative of Jno-Baptiste cried after the judge imposed his sentence.
