The Westmoreland pump attendant who was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm after setting another woman on fire has been granted bail. The accused, 30-year-old Collate Swaby, was offered bail for $350,000 at the parish court in Withorn, where her attorney had presented arguments of self-defence.
In court, Swaby was dressed in black with a bandage on her face. Next to her stood defence attorney Shane Walker, who outlined that the confrontation at the Withorn gas station followed a series of heated encounters. Walker said his client had been the target of hostility from two women before the incident and maintained that tensions had been building for several weeks.
The attorney further suggested that the confrontation stemmed from an earlier disagreement at the service station following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, when the complainant reportedly attempted to bypass other customers waiting to be served. According to Walker, Swaby insisted that the woman join the line, an interaction he said contributed to ongoing friction.
In applying for bail, Walker told the court that the defence intends to rely on self-defence arguments as the matter moves forward. He noted that while the case remains before the court, his client welcomed the opportunity to return home to relatives while awaiting the next hearing on April 16.
The bail was granted with one or two sureties. Swaby was ordered to surrender her travel documents and is now subject to a stop order preventing her from leaving the island. As part of the bail conditions, the accused must report to the Negril Police Station twice weekly, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and has been warned not to contact the complainant or any witnesses connected to the case.
Swaby is accused of dousing 40-year-old entrepreneur Dacia Forrester with gasoline and setting her on fire after sustaining injuries to her face during an altercation on February 19.
Forrester suffered third-degree burns on 70 per cent of her body and remains at Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James. The latest update on her condition says she underwent a surgical procedure to remove all the burnt skin. Her family members reported that the surgery was successful, but they appealed to the public for blood donations, which are urgently required.
Her sister, Carol Blackwood Hewitt, also continues to urge the public to donate to their GoFundMe page in order to help the family secure US$55,000 to airlift Forrester overseas for advanced treatment.
Blackwood Hewitt also disclosed that another sister who had been detained in relation to the incident was released without charge after investigators reviewed security camera footage from the gas station. According to her account, the footage reportedly showed no basis for charges against that relative.
The family has additionally urged authorities to release the surveillance recording publicly, arguing that the public has mixed emotions about donating to the fundraiser due to the rumours that incorrectly portrayed Forrester as the aggressor.