Kimberly Shantelle Brathwaite told detectives that after an argument with her then boyfriend in an apartment building at Maxwell, Christ Church, she “just lost it”, threw his clothes on the bed and set them on fire.
The details were read into evidence by State Counsel Anastacia McMeo-Boyce in the No. 5A Supreme Court before Justice Christopher Birch on Friday.
Brathwaite, of Moncrieffe, Station Hill, St Philip, had previously admitted that on September 15, 2018, she unlawfully damaged a building belonging to Linda Drakes by fire.
The court heard that she and her boyfriend of six years lived together in a two-storey apartment building at Fairholme Gardens, Maxwell, Christ Church, which contained six apartments.
The prosecutor said that after their relationship became strained, Brathwaite moved out, telling her boyfriend she would contact him in a week to discuss their future. Later that day, a female friend visited him at the apartment, and around 9 p.m. Brathwaite returned, knocked on the door and demanded to be let in, insisting she knew a woman was inside.
After the female friend left, an argument broke out between Brathwaite and her boyfriend. During the altercation, she locked the wrought iron gate to the apartment and became physically violent towards him. Eventually, his friend and her sister arrived, managed to unlock the gate, and the boyfriend left, while Brathwaite became more aggressive and had to be restrained by her sister, mother and stepfather.
After his departure, Brathwaite continued arguing and breaking household items. Her relatives went downstairs after failing to calm her. A short time later, the next-door neighbours were heard saying that a room was on fire.
Her brother ran into the apartment, saw the now convicted woman walking down the staircase from the direction of the bedrooms and heard her saying: “Wunnah better go and check upstairs.” He went to one of the bedrooms and saw clothing and the mattress on fire. He tried to douse the flames, assisted by his other sister, parents and eventually Brathwaite, but the smoke became too intense and they were forced to leave.
While outside, the convicted woman was heard saying: “I ain’t know what I do. I so sorry I did not mean to do it.”
When Drakes arrived on the scene, Brathwaite told her: “I am probably the last person that you want to speak to right now. I did not think it would have catch. I am so sorry.”
After police took her to the Oistins station, Brathwaite said: “I took Alex clothes and throw them on the bed and took a match stick and light the bed along with Alex clothes. I just lost it, I did not know what I was doing.”
The following day, when officers told her they believed she was responsible for the damage, Brathwaite replied: “No, I can’t answer that. I can’t say that I did, because to be honest I am still trying to process what really happened and how it happened.” She declined to give a written statement.
The prosecutor said that on inspection, four of the six apartments could not be occupied due to various issues including fire damage, structural damage, soot on the walls, water damage and chemical smells.
“Tenants of the adjoining apartments also sustained damage to their personal effects including clothing items. Due to extensive damage, Ms Drakes provided alternative accommodation for the affected tenants and simultaneously lost rent.”
She added that the insurance company’s assessment of the damage totalled $276 473.46, but only part of the claim was covered, leaving the owner to bear personal costs amounting to $103 070.58.
King’s Counsel Andrew Pilgrim, who, along with junior colleagues Summer Hassell and Lateisha Springer, represented Brathwaite, agreed with the prosecution’s statement as the facts of the case.
Sentencing submissions are set to be heard on January 29.
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