Lifeguard accused of killing brother gets committal hearing date

Dailando Bailey, the St James lifeguard who is charged with the September 12 strangling death of his brother Oshaine Bailey, is to return to the St James Parish Court on Wednesday for a committal hearing.

Bailey, 24, got the new court date and had his bail extended when he appeared before presiding parish judge Sasha-Marie Ashley on Monday. The committal hearing will be held to decide the date that Bailey's matter will be transferred to the St James Circuit Court for trial.

During Monday's proceedings, the clerk of the court told Ashley that while the prosecution continues to await the scene-of-crime report in Bailey's case, it would still be possible to go ahead without the document. However, Bailey's attorney, Henry McCurdy, argued that the prosecution did not have a solid case, as his client had acted in self-defence at the time of the incident.

"The matter is long past committal time ... my records show it is from September last year," said McCurdy, noting that the case had first come before the court on September 20, 2023. Nevertheless, Ashley set the committal hearing and extended Bailey's bail until that date.

According to allegations against the accused, approximately 12:45 p.m. on the day in question, the Bailey brothers were at their home in Catherine Mount district, also in St James, when they got into an argument over bills. The quarrel escalated into a physical fight, during which Bailey reportedly choked his brother until he became unresponsive. Oshaine, who was 30, was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Bailey later went to the Mt Salem Police Station, where he reported the incident. Following an interview, he was formally arrested and charged.