Woman bites off rival's nose

Love and accusations of infidelity in an affair between two women and a man ignited a verbal confrontation followed by open violence in the north eastern village of Woodford Hill. In the fight for the love of a man, one woman bite off the other's nose; trial Judge Errol Thomas will decide the biter's fate soon.

According to the evidence presented in the trial at the High Court in Roseau, Police Constable Allandale Luke charged Florence Telemacque of Woodford Hill with maliciously and unlawfully wounded Daisy Wallace of Woodford Hill with intent to do Wallace grievous bodily harm, and secondly unlawfully and maliciously wounding Daisy Wallace to do grievous bodily harm on May 1, 2011.

State Attorney Sherma Dalrymple assisted by Fernillia Felix conducted the case for the State over four days ending on Tuesday March 17, before a jury of three men and six women and Judge Thomas. Lawyer Gildon Richards conducted the defence.

Daisy Wallace, a self-employed 45-year old woman told the court that she grew up as a child with the accused Florence Telemacque in Woodford Hill. She and Fabien Cuffy, of the same community, were lovers at that time in 2011.

Wallace said on May 1, 2011 she went to her mother's house at Woodfordhill. She phoned Fabien and proceeded to bring lunch for him. He was working on his bus on the public highway running between Wesley and Calibishie. There is a drain on each side of the road. She said she went for a soft drink and on her return saw Florence Telemacque coming down a hill close to the main road.

Wallace said she crossed the road and sat on a stump. Telemacque and Cuffy crossed the road towards her, and Telemacque said: "Your woman said that I loving you, I sexing with you so come and sex me more".

Telemacque then pulled down her green pants and yellow underwear, took Fabien's head and bent over and rubbed his face in her private parts and said, sex me now.

She then pulled up her pants, tried jumping the drain, her foot slid and she fell in the drain.

According to Wallace, Telemacque first sat on some gravel and punched two cell phones.

"She started to curse me while she told her friends she cursing me," she said.

The two women started insulting each other. Wallace said Telemacque hit her on the leg three times and a fight started.

"I shifted the second kick and Florence fell down on the road. "I asked Fabien if she die?" said the virtual complainant.

Cuffy was leading Wallace to a wall when she fell in one of the drains. She hurt her foot and had trouble standing so she sat on the edge of the road. Telemacque came and bit Cuffy on his back.

"She came over, she leaned over me and bit my nose," Wallace said.

Wallace was transported to the Princess Margaret Hospital with the piece of the nose in a plastic bag. Surgery could not reattach the piece of nose.

Wallace said the injury had affected her life badly. She now suffers from asthma and to keep dust away she holds a bag over her nose all the time She sneezes a lot and has breathing problems and has to be taken to hospital from time to time to be given oxygen to get her breath back. Her beauty is gone and Cuffy is just a friend now.

Fabien Cuffy was another witness. Crossed examined, he said Telemacque was on top of Wallace in the drain. They were bleeding.

In her defence, Florence Telemacque, after a no-case submission by her lawyer fell through, gave evidence from the witness stand.

She said she went to make a phone call and met Fabien Cuffy fixing his bus. Then she saw Daisy Wallace coming from the Wesley direction. She told Fabien: "I so glad your woman Daisy coming. Three of us finally meet because she has my name in a letter saying that I, Florence is loving Fabien, so I want you to warn her.

She (Daisy Wallace) answered, don't call my name. I tell her I calling your name because I want her to tell Fabien I not with him. We start making noise".

Then Florence Telemacque said she just felt "Whap! Daisy just hit me with the tool on my head, the wheel spanner. When she was about to hit me a next blow, I kicked and I grabbed her. Fabien saw when I kicked Daisy so he turned and grabbed me and pulled me and I fell in the drain. He held onto me and kept pressing me down in the drain, and Daisy beating me down in the drain. I get blow all in my head.

"So two of them on me in that drain; the drain was narrow, so I had to help myself to get up. Every time I tried to turn to get up she biting me on my back. I really feel a hard bite this time on the side of my back. Daisy was biting me. So I brushed Fabien aside and in order to defend myself, I grabbed her head and I pulled. I closed my eyes and I just bite. I felt something in my mouth. I heard Daisy saying, 'girl you bite out my nose, but it not passing so'. I spit out the piece of nose in the drain."

Florence said Daisy got up and went to the bus. She was being helped to her home when she turned back and saw Daisy was coming towards her with a black-handled cutlass in her hand. She ran up the hill to her home and took a cutlass and ran back down the hill.

"On my way back I didn't see Daisy", said Florence.

Believing the virtual complainant's version, the jury found the accused guilty on the first charge. The second charge became superfluous and was withdrawn.

Justice Thomas has set sentencing for the recommencement of the criminal assizes in the middle of April..