J’can caregiver beaten in The Bahamas

A 49-year-old Jamaican woman claims she was badly beaten by two of her patient's children in The Bahamas, where she works as a caregiver, last Saturday.

"They almost kill me. If I never bawl out for Jesus and bit one on the hand I wouldn't escape. I would be on the ice now and none of my family knew what happened to me," said Pamella Wallace. "They beat me in my head and neck with a figurine and a piece of wood."

Wallace, a Spanish Town resident, revealed that she has been working with this family since last October, caring for the 78-year-old matriarch. She was employed by the eldest son. The woman she calls 'Grammy' has four children but they are not on good terms with each other.

Family issues

"The brother who hire me and his sisters who live next door to the mother are having some family issues but I don't get involve I just take instructions from my boss," she said "They are not pleased with that because he told me not to let anyone of them into the house because it is COVID time so they don't like that."

Wallace said that Grammy's daughters have accused her on multiple occasions of abusing their mother.

"But when my boss and the police come and check, they say it is a lie because they don't see any bruise on her," she said. "When any of the daughters come and don't have their mask, I don't let them in because the brother said I'm not supposed to." The tension climaxed last Saturday, a day after another stand-off with the women.

"I was bathing the old lady but she doesn't like to bathe so she was screaming 'call the police', but this is how she behaves because she has Alzheimer's and the daughters know this. They were the same ones who told me before I started working," Wallace said. "All of a sudden me hear the daughters outside saying 'I'm tired of this, you have to leave from here'. They broke down the door come in and start beating me."

She added "One hold me under me throat so I was pinned to the wall and the other put on the lick on me. Even now my whole body is in pain. I will be coming back home because I'm traumatised. They can't do people like this."

Both women have been in custody since, and have been charged with burglary and inflicting bodily harm.