Matthew Hyde, who pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including grievous bodily harm and false imprisonment of his ex-girlfriend, will be sentenced on December 17. The 21-year-old's brutal three-day attack in February 2023, involving burns and physical assault, left the victim with lasting physical scars and severe psychological trauma. Prosecutors highlighted the premeditated nature of the crime, while Hyde’s lawyer has requested a reduced sentence, citing his mental health challenges and remorse. 

‘I thought I was going to be killed’

Still traumatised, Hyde’s ex-girlfriend said she felt humiliated after hellish torture

Jamaica Gleaner/10 Dec 2024/Tanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter 

MATTHEW HYDE’S ex-girlfriend has revealed that during the harrowing three days of her prolonged torture in a university dorm room in February 2023, she reached a point where she had given up on living.

She said the ordeal not only left her suffering deteriorating mental health, but she also made attempts to end her life.

“I turned away at every mirror. I was sick at seeing myself. I thought about ending it all and I tried to,” said the complainant, who had received burns to her face, bottom, and breast from a clothing iron.

The young woman was forced to endure beatings and burns to four different parts of her body, after Hyde held her captive for three days at George Alleyne Hall at The University of the West Indies after accusing her of cheating.

The complainant, who is still visibly traumatised and distressed, recalled her suffering as a result of the ordeal in parts of her victim impact statement read yesterday in the Home Circuit Court, during Hyde’s part-heard sentencing hearing.

“Upon my rescue, I was completely and utterly stressed. All I could do was cry.

“I thought I was going to be killed. I gave up on trying to survive at one point because I thought he was never going to stop,” she said.

For several days, the complainant screamed uncontrollably for many hours at her house, where she also spent hours staring blankly at her walls.

“I struggle to bathe and feed myself. [I] was in excruciating pain,” she said. “I was unable to sleep, eat or breathe without being in constant pain.”

The complainant, who shared that she struggled to pay for medication and treatment, also noted that she felt embarrassed and humiliated.

TRAUMA

While also adding that her mental health had declined, the young woman said her pain, nausea, migraine, panic and anxiety attacks, depression, suicidal tendencies have unfortunately travelled with her to date.

“I am tired, scared, lonely and drained. I am beyond frustrated at what the incident has done to me.

“Living in fear is not living. I am merely surviving,” she lamented.

The excerpts from the complainant’s victim impact statement were highlighted by prosecutor Ashtelle Steele, who disagreed with Hyde’s lawyer, Patrick Peterkin, that the complainant had healed physically and psychologically.

She, however, conceded that some of the physical injuries have healed, but that the complainant will require plastic surgery and is currently undergoing consultation.

Steele shared that a dermatologist had reported that, although some of the burns had healed, the complainant has been left with keloid scars and hyperpigmentation marks on her chest and buttocks.

The complainant, who appeared virtually, was observed crying as she watched the proceedings.

Following enquiries from Justice Carolyn Tie-powell about restitution, Peterkin informed the court that his client, through his father, has paid over $2 million to the complainant’s lawyer, who has acknowledged receipt.

Steele, however, told the judge that the money was less than half of what the complainant is seeking.

Peterkin, in response, said the restitution was done as part of the criminal aspect and that his client will deal with the damages when the civil case is litigated.

The complainant’s lawyer, Obika Gordon, shared that his client will be pursuing a civil case against Hyde to recover damages for her pain and suffering.

Meanwhile, in her response yesterday, Steele argued that the case at bar was distinguishable from the cases cited by Peterkin last month during his mitigation plea.

She urged the judge to consider that one of the main distinguishable features between those cases and the current one was that this was premeditated.

Steele said Hyde could have stopped after the first burn but did not.

She said it was clear that his action was premeditated based on the fact that, when he allowed the complainant to take a cold shower after the first burn, he told her that she should be thanking him and, after he was finishing burning, he remarked “Let me appraise my artwork”.

PREMEDITATED ATTACK

She said the areas where he chose to inflict the burns, such as the complainant’s, face, breast and buttock, which is the “core of her sexuality and femininity”, also showed that this was premeditated given the alleged reason for his attack.

Steele further highlighted a psychiatric report in which the doctor stated that Hyde did not suffer from any mental abnormalities when he committed the brutal act and that he admitted that he wanted to hurt the complainant because she hurt him.

“This is not an everyday ‘causing grievously bodily harm’, and this shows how aggravating it is,” Steele argued, noting that this case in particular was egregious; and unlike other cases had left the complainant with serious physical, and psychological injuries and financial harm.

She asked the judge to find that the aggravating factors, which she listed as the complainant’s age, location of the injuries, psychological impact, permanency of her injuries, torture, pain, and premeditation, had outweighed the mitigating factors listed by Peterkin. Those include Hyde’s age, his remorse, that he was gainfully employed and was a student, and also that he suffered childhood trauma and had mental and psychological problems.

The judge, who needed time to consider Steele’s response and was also awaiting outstanding documents, will hand down her ruling on December 17.

The 21-year-old, who has been in custody since his arrest last February, pleaded guilty on September 26 to assault occasioning grievous bodily harm, use of malicious communication, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and false imprisonment.

Hyde, who was remanded, looked a bit unbothered, while his father and uncle both looked very perturbed.

Peterkin last month asked the judge to consider a sentence of between three and four years.

The lawyer, in a more than hour-long plea in mitigation, also urged the judge to bear in mind the personal circumstances of Hyde, who has undergone personal and psychological challenges since childhood and is currently diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

Attorney-at-law Gnoj Mcdonald also appeared for Hyde.

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