A St Philip woman went on trial before the High Court on Monday accused of committing a crime against another female.
Nikita Tamar Nurse, of Ruby Land, St Philip is charged with unlawfully wounding Chericee Crawford on January 9, 2017 with intent to cause her serious bodily harm or to maim, disfigure or disable her.
She is further charged with unlawfully and maliciously wounding the woman on the same date – charges to which she has pleaded not guilty.
The nine jurors who were empaneled to hear the evidence heard from the complainant. She was one of two state witnesses to give evidence today before the No. 2 Supreme Court which was presided over by Madam Justice Wanda Blair.
Under questioning by Senior State Counsel Olivia Davis, Crawford disclosed that she and the accused lived in the same neighborhood.
On the date of the alleged offence she, her cousin and her seven-year-old brother were walking to a shop in her community. She explained that as she came around the corner to the front road with her brother to the left, they came across Nurse who was standing on the sidewalk.
“I saw her [Nurse] step forward . . . When I saw that . . . I step down,” she told the court.
Crawford further explained: “She come forward a little bit off the pavement . . . I was on top the pavement coming around the bend. When she see me, she step forward . . . so instead [of] walking on the pavement to brush she or have my little brother brush her . . . I step down . . . in de road.
“After that I walked past Ms Nurse. When I get like two steps away from her, I felt a push. I looked around and I ask she, I say ‘wait you just push me’, and she say ‘oh I just brush she’.
“After she had stabbed me and I looked around which I didn’t feel the stab, I felt like a push . . .,” said Crawford, who claimed that Nurse had an object in her hand.
She added, “I was not aware I was stabbed at that time. From there I just went berserk. I was just in defend myself mode.”
Crawford said she went in search of rocks.
“She was coming towards me with an object in her hand,” she said while admitting she did not know what the object was.
“She was still coming towards me saying ‘I gine kill you, I gine kill you’. And I did take up rocks and pelt at her but I cannot remember if they hit her or not,” said Crawford who added that she and Nurse ended up on the side of the road where there was a coconut vendor.
“She was still coming at me saying she gine kill me, she gine kill me. . . . I took up the coconut man’s sword to defend myself with but he had take it from me while she was still coming at me.”
Crawford recalled, “My hand drop dead and I could not move . . . my left hand . . . I was . . . short of breath.”
An ambulance was later called and she was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where she got stitches in her back and a chest tube was put in. She said she was placed on a ward and stayed there for less than a week.
Since then she said, “My breathing ain’t what it used to be before . . . I have problems breathing. I can’t run or exercise anymore and I have permanent nerve damage.”
Nurse’s attorney Verla De Peiza cross-examined Crawford and suggested to her that she was the one who “bounced” into her client on that day.
The complainant stated that was
“Incorrect . . . no I did not”.
She was also told that she was the one who “chucked Nurse with both hands” to which she replied, “no”. Crawford was also adamant that she did not cuff Nurse in the face or chest nor did she hold her by the neck on the ground and choked her.
She also denied that she was the one who “reached into” her clothes and “pulled out a scissors” and that Nurse was able to get the weapon from her during the struggle.
Crawford labelled as “incorrect”, the statement that she was on top of Nurse on the ground when she was stabbed in the back in self defence.
The complainant also claimed that she was not aware whether the accused was injured.
When told that she was the aggressor on the day, Crawford replied, “No ma’am”.
