Woman beaten up, fears for her life

A 36-year-old mother of two, who was allegedly beaten last weekend by her boyfriend, says she fears for her life.{{more}}

Fransealle ‘Sally’ Brakin, a resident of Sandy Bay, in an interview with SEARCHLIGHT on Tuesday, October 18, said on Saturday, October 15, she was beaten by a man with whom she has been in a relationship for one year.

“Saturday, he went to Georgetown and he called me and tell me some boys coming by, so I must assist them by selling them drinks. So I said okay. After that I went to bathe, put on me nighty. Then he came home drunk, and when he comes home drunk, I normally go by my neighbor to sleep, so I went by she that night and sleep.”

Brackin said while at her neighbour’s home, the man entered the house, dragged her out of the house, into the street, stamped her on her chest, kicked her in her face and all over her body.

An emotional Brackin said the beating did not end there. She claims that he then carried her to their home and beat her with a piece of 2” x 2” board.

“I tried to defend myself, but he hit me behind my head and I passed out…” she explained.

Although knocked unconscious, the woman claims the man continued his vicious attack on her.

Black and blue bruises on parts of her body, including her back, shoulders and legs, were still visible when Brackin visited SEARCHLIGHT on Tuesday.

Brackin said luckily for her, the attack by her boyfriend was interrupted when neighbors and family members rushed to her assistance after hearing her screams for help.

The matter was reported to the police the night of the incident, but according to the woman, the man still has not been found.

“The police and the Black Squad (Rapid Response Unit) went looking for him, but he had fled the scene,” she said.

“Up to now they can’t catch him. They went back on Sunday, and even yesterday (Monday), and each time they (police) go, he either lock up in the house or jump the window and run when they leave,” Brackin added.

With her face still swollen and bruised, the visibly shaken woman journeyed into Kingstown on Tuesday to report the matter to Commissioner of Police Keith Miller, who according to her, was very upset upon seeing the state she was in and hearing what transpired.

Brackin also said she fears for her life and has applied for a restraining order against the man. She claims that last Saturday’s attack was the third time that the man had beaten her in the year they have been together.

She advises all women in abusive relationships not to wait, but to leave as soon as the abuse starts.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines has the dubious distinction of being the OECS state with the most female homicides motivated by intimate partner violence during the period 2000 to 2011.

Brackin’s incident took place on the same day that 46-year-old Rosalie Roberts and her 25-year-old daughter Shanique received cutlass chops, allegedly from Rosalie’s boyfriend of four years, landing them both in hospital.

On Saturday, September 24, Silma Phillips, a 48-year-old unemployed woman of Georgetown, was slashed across her throat with a knife, allegedly inflicted by her common-law husband. The man also slashed the throat of Eva Patterson, 43, who tried to protect Phillips. Luckily, both women survived the attack.

On Sunday, September 25, the body of 78-year-old widow Marion John was found in her house at Cacartha, near to the hydroelectric power plant at Richmond. Police believe she was raped and killed.

On Tuesday, September 13, George “Chocolate” Franklyn is alleged to have shot to death his wife Ingrid Jack-Franklyn, 35, and a neighbour, Marva James, 48.

On Sunday, August 14, 33-year-old Greiggs resident Stephmnie Daniel died of a stab wound to the neck, allegedly inflicted by her ex-boyfriend Aubrey Wilson.

Of the 18 homicides in St .Vincent and the Grenadines for the year, five of the victims have been women.