“Tearful Saco woman apologizes in court to ‘best friend’ for stabbing him 29 times.” That’s the great headline the Bangor Daily News did for a story from the Journal Tribune (of York County, Maine) . You can’t just mutter “Four times would have been plenty” and turn to sports. You have to read further. Anyway, I do.
In December 2010, Pamela Young stabbed her roommate Dale Berube all those times in the head, neck, arms, hands, and upper body. She left him in the bathtub while she cleaned up and he tried to persuade her to call 911. After an hour, she did.
We’re not told what set her off on the pointy weapon outburst, but we do learn they’d been fast friends, who helped each other through tough times.
According to court testimony, Young was a severely abused child. In adulthood she had several abusive relationships, drug problems, minor arrests, and mental health problems. She gave children up for adoption and made suicide attempts.
Young met Berube 11 years ago, and he wasn’t in great shape either. “I was 129 pounds, on alcohol, tobacco and caffeine, and she taught me how to respect myself and care for other people,” Berube told the court. “She turned me into the man I am today.” Which is a deeply forgiving man.
L’Assassinat de Marat/Charlotte Corday
In late 2010 Young began feeling that people were breaking into her apartment “to poison her cats and touch her food,” the Journal Tribune reported. She moved in with Berube. Around this time her mother took her to the emergency room, because Young was complaining about parasites she believed were in her throat and her leg. However, she was not referred for mental health services. (Because, you know, if people can’t pay for the treatment of their own imaginary worms, they shouldn’t have imaginary worms.)
Then came the stabbing incident, or as Berube tolerantly calls it, a “meltdown.”
In court Young, who pled guilty, said she knew she had mental health problems and substance abuse problems, but hadn’t realized how bad they were until she listened to her relatives’ testimony. “I can’t change what happened, and I’m not OK with it,” she said.
To Berube she said, “I want to sincerely apologize for the act of stabbing you.” She cried. “I hope your injuries have healed, and I am grateful to God that you survived — and I sincerely mean that.”
The judge, who could have given her to up to 30 years (the charge was elevated aggravated assault), gave her seventeen, and suspended all but eight. She also got four years of probation. She will get a mental health and substance abuse evaluation.
Did Berube accept Young’s apology? The story doesn’t explicitly say, but he testified that she had been a good friend to him, and said he would have preferred that she get less prison time and more mental health treatment. “This lady needs help and prison is not going to do any good for her.”
He felt four years would have been fairer than eight. “The sentence could be a lot less,” he said, “and I’m the victim.” Yeah, I think he accepts her apology.
Young’s mother called her daughter and Berube “two broken people trying to help each other through life.” Berube testified to the help Young had given him in the past. He’s still doing what he can to help her.
Grabby headline. Outrageous details. A moving story about a deep and enduring friendship.
