By Alexander Bruzual Tuesday, December 29 2009

A dispute between a group of women which reportedly started on the free access social networking website known as Facebook, resulted in one of the women being hospitalised, and three others appearing before a Port-of-Spain magistrate charged with attempted murder.

Vanessa Valley, 20, of Point Cumana, Sachel Thomas, 18, of Port-of-Spain, and Kheilla Cox, 18, of East Dry River, all appeared yesterday before Magistrate Brian Dabideen in the Seventh Court, charged for the attempted murder of Rachel Arneaud.

It was alleged that on December 12 last, along Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain, the women confronted each other “over a personal matter.” During the altercation, a knife was pulled out and Arneaud was stabbed several times. She received injuries to her chest, back and left side of her head. She was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where she was warded in a serious but stable condition.

All three women were held by the police last week, and had been remanded in custody until their appearance before the magistrate.

When Dabideen enquired about the altercation, court prosecutor Sgt Diane Boxhill explained she had received instructions that the fight had started over “a Facebook incident” involving the women and a male friend. The Magistrate was then told none of the women had any prior convictions or pending matters before the court, and as such the prosecution did not object to bail.

Attorney-at-law Liana Ramsahai represented Valley, while Thomas was represented by defence attorney Milliard Howell, and Cox was represented by defence attorney Fareed Ali. Each attorney made a bail application for their clients.

However, Dabideen emphasised the only reason he allowed the application was because of the prosecution’s submission.

“If it were up to me you would spend New Year’s in jail. You are all over 18 years, and you would be well to know that in knife fights someone could have been killed,” Dabideen said.

“And all this started over something on Facebook? Over what somebody said about somebody’s boyfriend or somebody calling someone some name? This is the reason why a girl was hospitalised with at least four stab wounds?” he added.

Dabideen placed all three women on cash deposit bails of $5,000 each.

The matter is scheduled to resume on January 29.