Immigrant pleads guilty to murder in IPV death of Filipino woman in Leamington

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The accused in the intimate partner violence (IPV) death of a Filipino woman in Leamington has pled guilty.

David Espinoza Montes, 40, pleaded guilty to second degree murder Friday in the death of Shermaine Carling on Sept. 29, 2022.

The OPP publicly released her identity as the victim a few days after the murder.

Court learned on Friday that Carling, 33, was stabbed to death with “two different sharp objects”, according to the Agreed Statement of Fact (ASF).

Carling immigrated to Canada in 2016 to work in a food processing plant in Essex County.

She was supporting two children who live in the Philippines in the care of family there, according to the ASF.

At the time of her death, Carling was living with her then boyfriend Espinoza Montes in a “rooming house” in Leamington.

Espinoza Montes, from Honduras, was seeking refugee status and did not have a valid Canadian work permit at the time.

On Sept. 29, 2022, Espinosa Montes and Carling got into an argument about a friendship she had with another man.

A verbal argument between them turned violent, court learned, when Espinosa Montes “obtained two different sharp objects.”

Police found a kitchen knife with a broken blade and a pair of scissors at the scene.

An autopsy on Carling revealed 48 “sharp force wounds”, including 21 to her back and 17 to her neck and torso.

After the murder, Espinosa Montes – who does not speak English - sent a friend an audio message on social media; “la mate” he said, which translates to “I kill her.”

Espinosa Montes then left his room and saw the landlord out front, saying “Mario Mario (the landlords nickname), I killed a Shermaine.”

According to the ASF, he then “threw himself on the ground and stayed until police came.”

Court learned the morning of the murder Espinosa Montes was up all night.

Around mid-day Espinosa Montes went to a walk-in clinic. A doctor diagnosed him with “mild depression contributing to poor sleep” and gave him a prescription of one pill per day for “stress or anxiety.”

Sentencing hearing at a later date

A sentencing hearing will be held on July 17, 2025 for Espinosa Montes.

Assistant Crown Attorneys Jayme Lesperance and Nicole Stortini are preparing a joint sentencing submission with defence lawyer Patricia Brown.

A conviction of second-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence in prison. The only thing to be determined is the period of parole ineligibility between 10 and 25 years.

At that hearing, Lesperance told the court members of Carling’s family are expected to offer victim impact statements to the court remotely from the Philippines.

Immigration status

Brown told the court Espinoza Montes’ guilty plea will “trigger” immigration consequences because of the “serious criminality” of the offence.

Justice Perfetto told Espinosa Montes the plea and upcoming sentencing “may affect your ability to stay in Canada.”

It’s not clear if Espinosa Montes will serve his sentence in Canada or be deported once he is sentenced later this year.

Brown advised the court Espinosa Montes will need to hire an immigration lawyer to sort out his status in Canada as a convicted man.

Brown told the judge Friday she did have an assessment done on Espinosa Montes to determine if he was not criminally responsible at the time of the murder.

She advised he was found to have been of sound mind at the time of the murder.