New court date for St James woman accused of throwing baby from rooftop

WESTERN BUREAU:

Shamoya Green, the St James woman accused of throwing her five-month-old daughter off the roof of a three-storey building, resulting in the child’s death, is to undergo a committal hearing on September 26 to facilitate the transfer of her case to the St James Circuit Court.

Judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton made that decision while reviewing an updated medical report on Green’s mental and physical health, when her case came up on the St James Parish Court on Wednesday. Green, who is in custody at the South Camp Adult Correctional Centre, in Kingston, was not present in court.

“I have received an updated report, dated July 22, 2024, in respect of Ms Shamoya Green. As it relates to her mental state, there has not been any improvement, and she is still in all aspects unfit to plead. It also gives the clinical diagnosis that she is suffering from a seizure disorder, with psychosis as a result of her seizures,” said Fairclough-Hylton.

“The seizures are such that at any moment they will affect her, and as such, for the police officers doing the transfer from Kingston to St James, it might pose a difficulty for them to transport her here. As a result, the hearing (committal) will take place with her being there, and she will attend via Zoom,” the judge added.

Once Green’s case is transferred to the Circuit Court, it is expected that a fitness to plea hearing will take place to determine whether she will be fit to stand trial. She is facing a murder charge.

Concerns were raised on the last court date (July 17) about whether Green, who is represented by attorney Jillian Haughton, could be safely transported from Kingston to St James for her court hearings, due to her medical condition.

The issue of Green’s seizures and mental health challenges came to light during her first court appearance on March 6 this year, when she claimed to hear her children’s voices calling for her before collapsing in the prisoner’s dock and appearing disoriented after being revived. At that time, the court ordered a psychiatric report to be prepared for her.

The allegations are that on December 6, 2023, at about 5:35 p.m., Green was at home with her common-law husband and other family members when she tried to have a conversation with the man about their relationship but he refused to engage at that time, saying he would talk to her later.

Green reportedly became enraged and left the room, taking baby Destiny (Brown) with her. She then took the child to the roof of the third floor of the family’s house and threw her onto the concrete pit in the yard.

The police were alerted and Destiny was taken to the hospital, where she died while being treated.