A 38-year-old man attacked a Perth woman with a knife in front of her toddler son because he feared he would be shamed on social media over a $4,000 debt, the WA Supreme Court has been told.
Herbert Edusada Anor owed the money to 43-year-old Julie Mercado, but when he went to her Beeliar home to repay the debt in October 2020, he instead grabbed a knife and told her "sister here is my payment" before he began stabbing her.
The court was told Ms Mercado's three-year-old son, who had been watching television nearby, then started hitting Anor with his toy and yelling "stop" as she begged him not to hurt the boy.
Her 16-year-old son, who had been in his bedroom, heard the commotion, and when he arrived in the lounge room he saw Anor had his mother up against the wall with the blade of the knife against her throat.
A fight ensued, during which the teenager and Anor slipped and fell on blood that was on the floor.
The son then managed to drag Anor out of the house and run to a nearby construction site, where he sought help from three workers for his mother.
'I lost my mind,' Anor told police
Anor fled the scene, leaving a trail of blood, prompting an eight-hour manhunt by police that included the Tactical Response Group.
He was arrested about 40 kilometres away, with the court hearing that after the stabbing he had had lunch with his partner and son at a suburban shopping centre.
He later told police he had not had enough money to repay Ms Mercado, and when she insisted on payment, "I lost my mind."
He also said he was concerned Ms Mercado would post on Facebook that he had not repaid the money, and that she would report him to the police and he would be locked up.
Admission of attempted murder
Anor pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted murder, with his barrister Simon Freitag SC telling the court there was "no good explanation" for what he done.
Both Ms Mercado and Anor were involved in the local Filipino community, and Mr Freitag said all he could point to was his client's fear that his reputation would be destroyed if there was a post on social media.
"That is the way he took it. He was going to be shamed, brought low in the eyes of the Filipino community," he said.
Mr Freitag said Anor also feared his son would be mentioned in the post.
"That a post on Facebook and a mention of his son could lead to him trying to murder someone is extraordinary," Mr Freitag submitted.
Eight-year, six-month sentence imposed
Justice Robert Mitchell said the crime had affected not only Ms Mercado's physical health but her mental wellbeing and her daily living.
The court heard she believed she was going to be killed and she had been left with permanent scarring from the surgeries she required for her injuries.
Justice Mitchell accepted that Anor's guilty plea had spared her, and her teenage son, the trauma of having to relive what they had been through.
But he said the attack had come "out of the blue" and because of that, he could not make a finding that Anor was not at risk of offending again.
Justice Mitchell sentenced Anor to eight years and six months in jail.
He was made eligible for parole, meaning he will have to serve six years and six months behind bars before he can be released.
With time already served, his first eligible release date is in early 2027.
