BUFFALO, N.Y. — A man who set his his ex-girlfriend on fire has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Jonathon White, 28, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempted murder and assault in October of 2018.
During the proceedings, Jessica Cameron and Jonathon White made statements to the judge. During her statement, Jessica described the recovery she'd undergone in the months after the incident at Tim Horton's in the City of Tonawanda.
"I was terrified of showering for months because it felt like being on fire all over again but it was required daily to make sure I didn't get any infections or other medical problems," Cameron said.
In court, State Supreme Court Judge Mark Montour had the courtroom sit in silence for 78 seconds, the amount of time Cameron was on fire.
"I need to know...I want to show what 78 seconds appears to be," he said.
Cameron sustained extensive burns to her face, head, and hands. She spent several months in the burn unit at ECMC. She is still recovering from her physical injuries.
White was found guilty of attempted murder and assault. He set his ex-girlfriend, Jessica Cameron, on fire outside a Tim Hortons last December in the City of Tonawanda.
White and Cameron had been in a relationship for more than seven years and have three children together. At the time of the incident, Cameron had already moved out and had started dating someone else, according to prosecutors.
Speaking to reporters after the sentencing, Cameron said, "I could only hope that this case can help other people, that people think they're stuck in a situation like I felt, can have the courage to get out, have the courage to speak out and hopefully prevent anything like this, or worse, ever happening again.
The concept of time was repeated consistently during the sentencing. When Jessica spoke to the judge, she described the days she spent unconscious after what happened, the weeks it took for her to relearn to eat, and the months she spent without her children.
In his own prepared statement, Jonathon said he took responsibility for Cameron’s injures but the situation was being portrayed differently than how it actually happened.
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