BARRETT TOWN, St James — Residents of this western Jamaica community are still trying to understand what led to Wednesday night’s vicious attack on a woman there and the torching of her house.

The woman, who was in a shop she operates on the ground floor of her home, was allegedly attacked by a man, dragged upstairs where she was reportedly raped and her throat slit before the dwelling was set on fire. Neighbours managed to rescue her after breaking down the door and gaining access, but not before she sustained burns to her body.

She was rushed to a medical facility where she is now said to be recovering.

Residents have been left deeply concerned.

“Why man stay so! Why them have to do the woman dat? Mi glad she alive, but bwoy…” one woman responded when asked for a reaction to the incident in her community.

The woman, who is also a business operator, spoke under condition of anonymity.

“I don’t know if is somebody going around and targeting woman, so right now there is some fear,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

Another woman called the attacker “heartless”.

“Then suppose nobody never there to help,” she pointed out.

Residents said the injured woman managed to wrap her wounded neck before she was rescued from the flames and members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force rushed her to get medical care.

“We are following strong leads into this matter,” a senior cop familiar with the case told the
Observer Thursday.

There are unconfirmed reports from the woman’s neighbours that it may be a domestic violence-related attack. The incident occurred in the early night hours with firefighters disclosing that they received the call about 9:00 pm Wednesday.

They responded with two units and an ambulance and managed to douse the blaze, which was also tackled by residents before the firefighters’ arrival.

The upper floor of the dwelling, where the woman lived, was gutted by the blaze, but the ground floor shop area had minimal damage.