Inset: Gayle Blount (Miami-Dade Department of Corrections). Screengrab: Bridget Knighton speaks about Blount’s alleged abuse (WPLG/YouTube).
A 55-year-old man in Florida was facing a 20-year prison sentence for shooting his ex-fiancee eight times while she was on the couch. The judge was prepared to pass down the sentence until he heard the testimony of the alleged victim, Bridget Knighton.
In a report from Miami ABC affiliate WPLG, Knighton detailed the numerous assaults she had endured before the shooting. She recounted how the suspect, Gayle Blount, had prevented her from seeking help during previous instances of domestic violence by not allowing her to answer the door when law enforcement arrived, and threatening her with violence if she made any noise. She described an incident at Denny’s where he had violently slammed her onto a table filled with dishes and food. Despite a restraining order, he had repeatedly shown up at her apartment leading up to the shooting.
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“Those restraining orders are just a piece of paper,” Knighton reportedly said. “They don’t stop a bullet.”
During the events in May 2021, Knighton was in her Miami Gardens apartment when Blount retrieved a gun from a car, forced his way into her home, and shot her eight times. Allegedly, he callously remarked, “Look what you made me do” after the brutal act.
As a result, Knighton has had to undergo some 11 surgeries and suffers from other health problems. She also must walk with a cane.
Blount has sat in a Miami-Dade County jail cell for nearly four years. Last month Blount and prosecutors came to a plea deal where he would plead guilty to attempted murder in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence. But Knighton reportedly testified that she felt the punishment was not stiff enough for all the terror he allegedly put her through.
Miami-Dade Judge Ellen Sue Venzer agreed, throwing out the plea deal.
“I think that the idea here is that I would have to agree that that would be an appropriate sentence, and I don’t,” Venzer reportedly said.
And so Blount is headed to trial, now facing even more potential jail time than the 20 years.
Afterward, Knighton expressed her thanks to the judge.
“She saw somebody that is suffering and she said, ‘Enough.’” she reportedly told reporters. “So I thank her for being candid and human. Just human.”
