Woman fears stepdad is her son’s father - Reveals life of abuse, being a ‘jacket’

A young woman's search for her child's father has reopened wounds of betrayal and abuse, with a DNA test set to reveal if her stepfather is the father.

Last week, this newspaper carried the story of Dolly*, whose mother, Marcia*, reached out to our DNA Detective because there is a possibility that Joe*, Marcia's husband, may be the father of Dolly's five-year-old son. Almost six years ago, Marcia caught her husband of five years in bed with her then 16-year-old daughter. Devastated by the shocking ordeal, she left him and sent Dolly to live with her father. However, she later decided to work on her marriage and moved back into the family home. Months before the birth of her son, Dolly returned to live with her mother and Joe as well.

In an interview with THE WEEKEND STAR, Dolly opened up about her troubled past. She explained that she never had a good relationship with her parents. She also explained that the man she believed to be her father was not her biological dad, and that it was revealed to her mother that she is a 'jacket'; Dolly's real father lived overseas.

Despite this revelation, she was raised by the man she once called her father -- who, she claimed, was abusive.

"Him used to always cuss mi and lick mi; but one night, him chop offa me and mi cousin with a machete and seh him a guh kill wi. So me and har run weh, but we never did a duh nothing bad, wi just did stay wid some friend," she recounted.

Following this violent encounter, after being missing for almost a week, she left his house and went to live with her mother, hoping for a fresh start. However, her life took another unexpected turn when she asked her stepfather for money.

"Mi ask him fi $500, and him seh something to mi, but mi nuh remember what. And that's when mi decide fi jus duh it," she said, revealing that was her first sexual intercourse with her stepfather.

When the news team spoke to Joe, he claimed Dolly had forced herself on him, and although he admitted he was wrong, he still blamed her for the sexual encounters which, he said, only happened twice.

"Mi know seh mi wrong, enuh, but a she force up harself pon mi. Dat a why mi did tell mi wife mi nuh want har inna di house," Joe said.

When asked if he had ever made sexual advances towards her before, Dolly hung her head and remained silent. She only stated that their encounters were consensual. However, when pressed on why she believed it was acceptable to sleep with her stepfather, she gave no response. She also admitted to having another partner at the time her son was conceived, but she believes her son bears a resemblance to her stepfather, and fears he may be the child's biological father.

Dolly and Joe are the third pair to receive a free paternity test from DNA Detective, a partnership between the newspaper and Polygenics Consulting to solve paternity mysteries. In next week's edition of THE WEEKEND STAR, the results will confirm whether Dolly's stepfather is her son's dad.

If he is, Dolly said that she plans to leave her son with him and her mother to move in with a friend, so that she can rebuild her life.

"Mi know seh if a fi him, this a guh be crazy ... so mi a guh stay wid a fren and get some subjects suh mi can get a work and help myself, then duh wah mi afi duh fi mi son," she said.

*Names changed to protect identity