By FARRAH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
A MAN was charged with murder yesterday and a mother arraigned on child cruelty charges in connection with the brutal death of four-year-old D’onya Bella Walker last weekend.
They were both denied bail.
Police said sometime around 5pm last Friday, they received information from medical practitioners at Princess Margaret Hospital stating that a female child was brought into the facility unresponsive.
Officers said initial investigations revealed the child, a resident of Major Subdivision, sustained several injuries to her body, from which she later died.
Police said the four-year-old’s official cause of death was blunt force trauma.
Ostonya Walker, 29, the girl’s mother, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt yesterday, charged with one count each of exposing a child to grievous harm and cruelty to children.
Prosecutors have accused Walker of exposing Bella in a manner that caused her serious injury on November 5. They further alleged that Walker unlawfully permitted little Bella to be abused in a manner that caused her unnecessary suffering and injury to her health.
Walker’s reported boyfriend, Darion Smith, 33, was also charged with a count of child cruelty and murder, after police accused him of intentionally and unlawfully causing Bella’s death on the day in question.
The couple did not show any visible emotions when the charges were read to them, although Walker, who appeared to be slightly disheveled, was asked to speak up when she confirmed her date of birth, as the magistrate could not hear her soft tone when she spoke the first time.
During the hearing, Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt noted that all of the matters were related to the more severe charge of murder. As a result, she said the prosecution would proceed by way of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).
The magistrate said that as the matter had attracted “much national concern,” the Department of Public Prosecutions might consider fast tracking the VBI to the Supreme Court. She subsequently adjourned the matter to December 17 for a status hearing.
In the meantime, both accused were denied bail and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.
Walker is represented by attorney Barry Sawyer. While her sister was present during the hearing, it did not appear that anyone attended court for Smith.
Also absent during the arraignment was Bella’s father, Deno Smith, who was visibly distraught when he spoke to reporters outside the Magistrate’s Court complex.
Although he did not say much, he said he was “thankful for the support” of the public.
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