A 24-year-old Manhattan woman pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter and arson charges in the killing of her former boyfriend Jason Ognenoff after she had an emotional outburst inside his Haverstraw apartment in August.
Following a morning of negotiations and a talk with her mother, Jody-Ann Hemmings pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree arson before state Supreme Court Justice William A. Kelly in the County Courthouse in New City.
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The charge carries a prison sentence of five to 25 years.
Kelly agreed to sentence Hemmings to 15 years in prison for manslaughter after prosecutors sought 18 years, while her lawyers sought 12 years. Kelly said she would get a 10-year concurrent sentence on the arson charge.
Sentencing was set for Aug. 23.
Hemmings, the mother of a 9-year-old girl, admitted she caused Ognenoff’s death by beating him in the head with a figurine and then stabbing him with a steak knife before setting fire to his apartment at 8 Charles Lane.
Hemmings, who formerly lived on Oak Tree Lane in Haverstraw, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, which means she didn’t intend to kill Ognenoff. A psychiatrist and psychologist found she suffered from extreme emotional disturbance, mitigating a murder charge.
Kelly told the Ognenoff family the prosecution would have been hard-pressed to prove murder after both experts for the prosecution and defense agreed on Hemmings’ mental disorder. Dr. Dawn Hughes, a psychologist, examined Hemmings for the defense, while Dr. Alan Tuckman, a psychiatrist, did the same for the prosecution.
The family understood, but still felt Hemmings murdered Ognenoff.
“Given the circumstances, they did the best they could,” said Nicole Owens, Ognenoff’s sister. “She can justify her actions with post-traumatic stress or extreme emotional disturbance, but we still believe she murdered him.”
Owens said the family didn’t know Hemmings or about any relationship she had with Ognenoff. Hemmings claimed she knew him for two years, Owens said.
“My brother was a great guy,” Owens said. “He would walk into a room and it lit up from his smile. We’re going to miss him for the rest of our lives.”
Hemmings’ Public Defender’s Office lawyer, Kenneth Murphy, said he couldn’t discuss what set off Hemmings, but said she acted out of extreme emotional disturbance. She also is represented by Ronnie Gonzales.
At trial, the defense would have had to prove Hemmings’ mental state led her to attack Ognenoff.
In court Monday, Hemmings admitted that on Aug. 18 she hit Ognenoff with a figurine and stabbed him more than once.
Prosecutor Dominic Crispino said she stabbed him 11 times in the chest but she said she didn’t remember how many times. Richard Kennison Moran also prosecuted the case.
She admitted she lit two candles in a bedroom closet and closed the door. She said she didn’t remember taking the knobs off the gas oven. She took the figurine when she left.
Under Crispino’s questions, Hemmings admitted she never checked to see if Ognenoff was alive and was aware when she set the fire there were neighbors living in the apartment building.
She will have to pay restitution for damaging the building, but prosecutors didn’t know the amount.
Ognenoff was found dead in the living room of the apartment. Ognenoff, who worked at CVS in New City and did not have use of his left arm because of a motorcycle crash 20 years ago, died of multiple stab wounds.
Before the guilty plea, Ognenoff’s mother, Gloria Sanchez, went up to Hemmings’ mother, Desrine Messam, in the hallway outside the courtroom. She told her that they both lost children but she can still talk to her daughter. She urged her to have faith in God. The two mothers held hands and hugged.
In August, when she met up with Ognenoff, Hemmings had been living in Manhattan with a boyfriend while studying nursing at Stony Brook University, her family has said. She graduated from North Rockland High School in 2007 and went to Rockland Community College.
Hemmings came to the United States from Jamaica and is a permanent resident. Kelly said she could face deportation after serving her prison term.
