Aunt and niece dragged before court after fighting over rum at nine-night
A senior parish judge requested that an aunt and niece hug and sit beside each other when it was revealed that a dispute over rum at a nine-night landed them in court on assault charges.
Althea Dennis, the niece, and her aunt Suzie Scott appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Tuesday before presiding judge, Lori-Ann Cole-Montague.
The court was told that the dispute at the nine-night spilled over to the day of the funeral on January 29, when Scott accused Dennis of taking the liquor that was set out for Scott’s sister’s nine-night. However, when Dennis denied taking the rum, they started fighting, resulting in the women suffering injuries.
Scott said Dennis took up a stone and “lick mi in mi head” so she “chop her back” with a stone.
It was revealed that Dennis also broke several of Scott’s windows.
Dennis pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, malicious destruction of property and unlawful wounding, while Scott pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding.
“You are family,” Cole-Montague said disapprovingly.
The court was told that this was not the first time the two women fought on the day of a funeral. Scott told the judge that “she attack mi already a mi brother funeral.”
“So you and funeral don’t ‘gree,” Cole-Montague said.
Noticing that the tension was still strong between the women, the judge told them to stand closer, and when they hesitated, Cole-Montague said “hug yuh aunt…sit down close like you in a tight bus.”
“It looks shameful. It not only looks shameful, it is shameful, and sometimes we wonder why young people coming up don’t behave better. You know why? Because people who are supposed to know better not doing better,” the judge said.
“Sometimes we see 13-year-olds [and] 12-year-olds and like dem mouth set pan spring [and] ready fi trace anybody and dem so antagonistic and hostile. Because we the adults, we are not getting it right,” she continued.
The matter was stood down for about one and a half hours to allow the woman to sit together.
When the judge returned to the matter she asked them, “Unuh heart feel lighter yet?”
“Yes,” Dennis said.
However, Scott said, “Mi body feel tired.”
“Good,” the judge responded, before ordering them to return to court on March 27 for sentencing.
Scott was told to get an estimate of the amount it would cost to fix her windows before the judge told them they can leave.
However, when Scott was exiting the room she was reportedly heard hissing her teeth and saying, “unuh waste mi time.”