Jermaine Pearman has been jailed for life for the brutal murder of his estranged girlfriend, and will not be eligible for parole for at least 25 years.Pearman, 37, stabbed 23-year-old prison officer Shakeya DeRoza at her home on Paynter Lane, Sandys, in July 2009.Ms DeRoza had two young children, one of them by Pearman, but had recently ended their three-year relationship after a series of violent attacks at his hands [see separate story].Jailing Pearman yesterday, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves said: “In all the circumstances this court finds the defendant to be a dangerous one who must not only be substantially punished for this barbarous murder, but from whom the women of this society must be protected.”Pearman pleaded guilty to murder last Tuesday but his sentencing was delayed due to a dispute between prosecutor Carrington Mahoney and legally-aided defence lawyer John Perry QC over the facts of the case. Mr Mahoney told Supreme Court that on the day of the murder, Pearman broke into the victim’s home, had “non-consensual” sex with her and stabbed her multiple times.Ms DeRoza suffered two wounds to her neck, one of which pierced her jugular vein, and one to her heart as well as a wound to her right hand.Pearman insisted that Ms DeRoza attacked him during a fight when both of them were armed with knives.He claimed Ms DeRoza stabbed him in the neck and died when his efforts at self-defence went too far.He denied breaking into her house and raping her.Sentencing Pearman yesterday, Mr Justice Greaves said he did not feel the need for a hearing where witnesses would be called over the disputed facts.He accepted Pearman entered the victim’s home as an intruder and there was “sexual contact of an aggravating nature”.Investigators found Pearman’s sperm on Ms DeRoza’s trousers and duct tape with her DNA on it. They also discovered notes in Ms DeRoza’s diary where she alleged Pearman had raped her before and threatened to do it again.The judge rejected the defence suggestion that Ms DeRoza inflicted injuries on Pearman and that he’d not meant to kill her.He said this was “wholly implausible” given the injuries inflicted on her.Pearman was arrested on the Railway Trail behind Somerset Bridge in Sandys later that afternoon. He was armed with a knife and suffering from a self-inflicted neck wound.Officers spent an hour-and-a-half negotiating with him before he gave himself up and was taken to hospital [see separate story].Prior to murdering Ms DeRoza, Pearman had a string of previous convictions and spells in prison.In 1999 he was found guilty of sexual assault and stalking after he followed a female motorcyclist and forced her off the road.He then threw her against a wall, punched her in the face and sexually assaulted her. He was jailed for three-and-a-half years.Pearman claimed he’d helped the woman after she “decked out” on her bike.In 1990, Pearman was handed a 12-month conditional discharge for having unlawful carnal knowledge of a 15-year-old girl, who he cut on the leg.Pearman, who was 16 at the time, denied taking advantage of the unwilling teenager, but Senior Magistrate Will Francis described the incident as “frightening and harrowing”.Pearman also has convictions for violently resisting arrest, assault with intent to cause bodily harm to a police officer, obstructing the police, and possessing drugs with intent to supply.Jailing him for murder yesterday, the judge said: “It is necessary that he receive a very long sentence and that he should not be released from imprisonment for a very long time.“He will need, I think, substantial remediation with convincing success before he is released into society again.“The court will accept the prosecution’s submission that his minimum time to be served before eligibility for the consideration of parole be 25 years.”Pearman declined to address the judge before he was sentenced. His family left court without comment, as did Ms DeRoza’s.However, a sex assault counselor who is familiar with Pearman’s history welcomed the sentence. She described him as “extraordinarily violent” towards women and said she was “very distressed” to hear of Ms DeRoza’s murder.The counsellor who did not wish to be named due to the sensitive nature of her work added: “I’m very pleased and relieved with the result of maximum sentencing. This crime and the history of the perpetrator cannot be taken lightly.”