| In what was described as the worst domestic violence case ever brought before her, Senior Magistrate Mrs. Valerie Stephens, remanded Ovel Benjamin Mathew who allegedly beat his girlfriend in public last Tuesday in the Duff’s Bottom area in the British Virgin Islands.“I cannot give you bail, as you see, the victim is still in a serious condition and still hospitalized…The allegations against you are very serious and I must say this is the worst case of domestic violence I have ever heard. So bail is denied,” Magistrate Stephens said Thursday morning.Mathew, 23, and a native of Dominica was not allowed to plead to the indictable charges of attempted murder, causing grievous bodily harm, attempting to choke, two counts of criminal damage and two counts of reckless and negligent act.Senior Prosecutor Tiffany Scatliffe, in rolling out the allegations,Cheap Jerseys From China, stated that the victim, Savitree Ramphal, 26, an employee of a local law firm, was involved with the accused who is a construction worker. At the time of the incident she was living with him at Belle Vue.Scatliffe said that for the past two years their relationship has not been on good terms. On the day in question, April 21 last, Ramphal took her vehicle to the mechanic shop where her ex boyfriend works.Around 10:00am, her ex came to return the vehicle after fixing it, but it appeared that the accused saw the man driving Ramphal’s vehicle. He then left his place of work, went home and changed his clothing and visited the young lady at her office.On the stairway he confronted her on who was driving her vehicle and an argument ensued. The accused then allegedly made attempts to throw the woman over the stairways, but a tourist who was passing at the time shouted for him to stop, which he did.According to the allegations, he did not stop there. At 5:00pm the victim left work and went to her vehicle where she met him awaiting her arrival. He immediately started ‘cussing’ her about going back with her ex boyfriend. The woman then called his uncle who lives in Hannah’s Estate but the uncle asked her to bring him up so he can talk with him.They then went inside the vehicle with Mathew sitting in the front passenger seat. On their way, she stopped and picked up his cousin at the Water Front Taxi stand. The young man continued to ‘cuss’ the woman. When they got to the Duff’s Bottom area he took his fist and hit her at the right side of her face. The woman then stopped the vehicle and put it in park and pulled up the hand brakes.She then exited the vehicle and he then proceeded to jump inside in the driver’s seat where he started to reverse in her direction. The woman then ran around another vehicle that was parked. This resulted in him hitting into the rear of the parked vehicle rather than her. The glass from her vehicle was shattered and some of the glass flew and cut the woman on her feet.Mathew then jumped out of the vehicle and began to choke the woman until she passed out. She fell to the ground and he continued to punch and kick her about the body and face.The owner of the other vehicle who was witnessing the entire episode tried to hold back the accused and told him it’s not worth it, but Mathew replied, “Let me kill her and go to jail.”At the same time, Police officers were coming in the same direction when they observed him punching and stomping the woman in her head. The officers rushed out of the vehicle and ordered him to stop, but he refused.The Police then got him off of the woman, when he told them, “Officer it’s a crime of passion. Do what you want to do with me. Arrest me.”According to Scatliffe, the woman suffered laceration to both eyes which could not be opened for a while, swollen neck, cuts on her feet and she also complained of pains in her abdomen and back. She said that the woman is in serious condition at the hospital.Police said that at the station Mathew admitted that he got upset with her because she was ‘not doing him right’. He also said that he is sorry what he did and still loves her.The pictures of the scene and the condition of the woman were shown to the Magistrate who responded, “This is serious. All of this is blood?”Mathew had told the court this morning that he is willing to pay for what he did to Ramphal.The matter was set for report on May 22, 2009. (From BVI Platinum) |
