KINGSTON, Jamaica — After greater than a decade of denial, 61-year-old Trevor Taffe, the previous Coronation Market vendor, has lastly admitted to the brutal 2012 homicide of Nicole Heron, the mom of his little one, whose physique was present in a septic tank at his house in Havendale, St Andrew.
For 13 years, Taffe insisted he was harmless, even securing a Court docket of Attraction ruling for a retrial in 2022. Nevertheless, in a surprising reversal final December, he broke down and confessed throughout preparations for his retrial. On Thursday, Supreme Court docket Justice Leighton Pusey sentenced him to a further 17 years at arduous labour, bringing his whole time behind bars to 30 years.
Justice Pusey, in delivering the sentence, stated the courtroom thought of Taffe’s responsible plea, the influence of a retrial on Heron’s household, and his age in deciding the ultimate time period.
“I’m conscious of the details, not simply from the file but additionally from the sufferer influence assertion, of how troublesome this has been for the household,” Justice Pusey stated. “It is a very troublesome matter, as a result of when somebody is murdered in a household like this, it’s not simply the sufferer who suffers—it’s the whole household.”
He additionally condemned Taffe’s years of deception, stating that he lived a “continued fiction” relating to the crime whereas figuring out the reality all alongside.
Taffe, who was initially sentenced to life imprisonment with parole eligibility after 20 years, will now be launched in his late 70s.
On April 3, 2012, 26-year-old Nicole Heron left her mom’s home to go to Taffe, with whom she had a four-year relationship. She by no means returned.
Days later, Taffe gave conflicting tales to Heron’s household, at one level saying she was at his home, then claiming she had left for a stage present in Ocho Rios.
Nevertheless, on Might 5, 2012, a burnt pile of Heron’s clothes, bag, and hairpiece was found in Taffe’s yard. Beneath it, police discovered a septic pit containing her decomposing physique, wrapped in a comforter. Her head was almost severed, and a rock was tied to her ankle.
Upon his arrest, Taffe bizarrely praised God, talking in tongues earlier than exclaiming, “Mi couldn’t kill Nicole, a she look afta me and tek care a mi foot.”
Taffe’s legal professional, Leroy Equiano, stated his shopper broke down throughout retrial preparations and admitted his guilt, saying it was troublesome to simply accept that he had killed somebody he cherished.
In response to Equiano, Taffe claimed he snapped throughout an argument after Heron made hurtful feedback. “Jealousy… that factor that harms so many people,” Equiano famous.
Regardless of the confession, Justice Pusey was clear that Taffe’s deception added to his punishment. “He not solely disposed of the physique however continued to lie for years.”
Heron left behind three kids, together with a five-month-old daughter, a seven-year-old son, and a 12-year-old daughter on the time of her dying.
Her household, after years of uncertainty and authorized battles, will lastly see justice served—however their ache stays.
