Court to set compensation for woman attacked by mother, daughters

The prosecution and defence are trying to reach a resolution on compensation in a case before the High Court.

The issue was discussed at a virtual sitting of the No 2 Supreme Court on Monday in the matter of sisters Tamisha and Nikita Gooding and their mother Octavia Nurse versus Channa Weekes.

Following a trial in June last year, the mother and daughters from Four Roads, St Philip, were convicted by a nine-member jury of unlawfully causing serious bodily harm to Weekes with intent to maim, disfigure or disable her or to do some serious bodily harm to her on June 20, 2013.

They were on trial before Justice Randall Worrell in the case prosecuted by Senior Crown Counsel Olivia Davis and Crown Counsel Romario Straker. The women are represented by attorney-at-law Kendrid Sargeant.

At a previous sitting, Davis had recommended a figure of $30 000 for compensation.

On Monday, Weekes told the court that she was willing to accept compensation from her attackers, explaining that she was still receiving treatment for the injury sustained.

Sargeant said his clients were amenable to paying compensation but would first like to have a look at the medical bills and/or medical report “even though they have a figure in mind”.

Weekes has given an undertaking to have those documents to the parties and the court by the next sitting on March 4.

During the trial, Weekes said she did not know the reason for the attack.

She said she was standing with a male that night near De Juice Spot in her community when Tamisha came quarreling with the two of them. Weekes explained that she “flung” off her hand and told the woman to get out her face but she never hit her.

Weekes said sometime later, she went to a car and saw Octavia and Nikita and the situation escalated from there.

“I never had anything with them before that date,” Weekes added about the women she knew for ten years before the incident.