Crown wants eight-year sentence in stabbing death

A jury rejected Shaqueta Foley's argument that she was being choked when she fatally stabbed Robert Crossman in the Saint John apartment they shared.

According to Crown prosecutor Blake Johnston, that leaves the judge to decide whether her boyfriend attacked her at all on the night of Oct. 4, 2023, which could affect the length of her sentence.

Foley, 31, was convicted May 17 of manslaughter in Crossman's death after a five-day jury trial. On Wednesday, Johnston asked Justice William Grant to sentence Foley to eight years, less 345 days of credit for time spent in remand, while Foley's lawyer Shanna Wicks asked for three years less remand.

At trial, Crossman's landlord Jim Hammond testified that he came downstairs after hearing "thuds and bangs" and saw Foley and Crossman grappling in the hallway. Crossman told Hammond to call 911 because he wanted Foley gone, and Foley retreated into the apartment and attempted to close the door when Crossman pushed back into the apartment and emerged, less than 30 seconds later, gushing blood.

Foley testified that she only "vaguely" remembers stabbing Crossman. She told the jury the two had slept most of the day after doing drugs the previous night, and she was woken up by having Crossman slam her head against a wall and drag her out of bed and into the hallway. She testified that when Crossman followed her back into their bedroom, he began choking her and she grasped a knife and swung it into his back.

Foley was photographed with a mark on her forehead and bruising on her right eyebrow, and initially denied the stabbing to police before insisting she had only stabbed him once. Crossman died of his injuries on the 14th, with a medical examiner testifying that his two wounds were "inconsistent" with a single stabbing motion.

Johnston told court that there are a wide range of possible sentences for manslaughter, and that Grant could use the jury's guilty verdict to interpret Foley's moral blameworthiness in the situation. The prosecutor said that she had a "high level" of culpability, citing the way she changed her story as "misrepresenting" what happened.

He argued that there was "no significant provocation" for the stabbing, saying there isn't enough evidence to prove that Foley was a victim of intimate partner violence. He said Hammond's account appeared to depict a "consensual-style fight," and that Foley had attributed her bruising to being hit on the bicycle, a story that had conflicted with Hammond's testimony.

Wicks said Crossman's death was a "complete and utter tragedy" that had impacted Foley as well. She said her client had no previous criminal record, and made "significant" progress in custody with counselling and with sobriety. She said Foley wants to build on her skills and become a "contributing member of society" after her release.

Foley had attempted to co-operate with police, Wicks said, telling Grant that denials were a result of Foley herself coming to grips with what had happened in the immediate aftermath of a "traumatic situation."

But the judge had issues with those explanations, noting that it had been Crossman, not Foley, who asked to call the police, and calling to mind what Hammond said he heard Foley say afterwards.

"Frankly, what disturbs me are the very first comments," Grant said. "'Rob, what have you done?' That's an immediate effort to deflect, I don't think that's trauma."

Wicks said the comments weren't addressed to Hammond, and that Foley hadn't remembered stabbing Crossman. She said that despite Johnston describing the argument as a "consensual-style fight," Foley was much smaller than Crossman, was undressed and that retreating into the apartment was her way to defuse the situation and calm Crossman.

Johnston said Wednesday that "we don't know the circumstances" inside the apartment. The defence had to prove that she was being assaulted on balance of probability, meaning "50-50 doesn't cut it," Johnston said.

Grant scheduled his decision for Monday afternoon. Six victim impact statements were registered, including one from his parents, but were not read aloud Wednesday. They show a man who was "very loved" by family and friends, Johnston said.

When asked if she had anything to say, Foley, who appeared on video from custody, said she "takes full responsibility and accountability for what's happened," while fighting back tears.

"I am very sorry to his family and everybody in the situation," she said. "I just want to take the accountability and get this sentence so that I can be a better person when I get out, as well as (so) his family gets the healing that they need."

Foley faces a charge of breaching a release order in Moncton that is set for trial in November, and is set for sentencing on Friday on unrelated charges of assault, theft of merchandise and credit card fraud dating to last summer.

Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Telegraph-Journal