Woman’s hair ripped from scalp during fight

A Corporate Area woman will have to accept the harsh reality of her hair not growing back, after several strands of it were dragged from her scalp during an altercation in Papine Square in St Andrew.

Prosecutors shared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court that on July 2, about 2:45 p.m., the defendant Patrina Campbell confronted the complainant and said she was going to slap her in the face. Campbell grabbed the complainant, spat in her face, then pulled her locs from her scalp. Photos were shown of the bald spot that resulted from the altercation.

"You are a terrorist! You went looking for trouble and you found it," Senior Parish Judge Sanchia Burrell told the defendant.

"My daughter had just turned 18 years old and there was some misunderstanding in the home. I didn't put her out and they [the complainant and her partner] offered her a room at her home. So, after, I spoke with him and told him that I want him to send my daughter home," Campbell shared.

"But your daughter is an adult," the senior judge interjected.

"Yes, but I don't think it was in her best interest to have me and her siblings not have any communication," Campbell, a mother of five said, pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault at common law. Burrell chided Campbell's reasoning.

"So how much this pull-out hair going cost you? Has the hair started growing back in the space? You tried castor oil?" the senior judge quizzed.

But the complainant indicated that her hair growth has been stagnant, even with consultations with a doctor costing $5000. She shared that she purchased hair growth oils and supplements she researched online, spending in excess of US$100 in addition to shipping costs.

"I don't know if the hair going [to] grow back yuh know miss. You have to get used to styling your hair around it," Burrell opined.

"I buy 13 different colour hats just to match what I am wearing," the complainant responded.

The matter was referred to on the spot mediation and the agreement drafted stated that Campbell is to make restitution in the sum of $60,000 to the complainant, in instalments, by April 2025.

"You probably will have to buy couple more bottles of treatment," Burrell cautioned. Campbell, a farmer and musician, was made the subject of a fingerprint order and is to return to court on November 18 to make first payment.

- T.T.