Marriage murder scandal
St Andrew businesswoman charged with trying to kill hubby as couple trade claims
Published:Thursday | August 4, 2022 | 12:13 AM
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In a twist of fate, Vanacia Johnson-Lee, the 33-year-old St Andrew businesswoman who has been charged with the attempted murder of her husband, Edward Lee, had been pushing for his arrest for reported assault when she was, in turn, taken into...
In a twist of fate, Vanacia Johnson-Lee, the 33-year-old St Andrew businesswoman who has been charged with the attempted murder of her husband, Edward Lee, had been pushing for his arrest for reported assault when she was, in turn, taken into custody.
Johnson-Lee, co-owner of Lea’s Sugar-Coated Treats, is accused of using her BMW motor car to mow down Lee at a business place on Constant Spring Road in St Andrew some time in November last year.
The police were summoned, and Lee was taken to hospital, where he was admitted with two broken arms.
Johnson-Lee was arrested at her Grosvenor Terrace, Kingston 8, home on Friday, following months of reported bickering with her husband.
She was subsequently charged after an interview.
In a Gleaner interview on Wednesday, Patrick Peterkin, the attorney representing Johnson-Lee, said his client’s arrest came as a surprise.
“My client was really subject to an assault, have gotten injuries in relation to all of that, and we were expecting that that would be addressed and she ends up in custody whilst the other person walks around freely,” Peterkin said.
Johnson-Lee is being held at the Bridgeport police lock-up in St Catherine, one of the few women lock-ups in the country.
Peterkin said that he has been unable to secure bail for his client because of the nature of the charge but has been pushing for a court date to secure her release.
“We’re basically struggling and fighting to get a court date for her. We’re trying to see if we can get her before the court before the end of the week,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lee’s attorney, Christopher Townsend, said that the couple were on speaking terms but divulged that “the incident escalated” and his client thought it best to report the matter and the full story to the police.
Townsend noted that he could not divulge what he called the full story because of the impending court case.
“My instructions are that both arms were broken. She ran over him and indicated that he should have died. This was happening at a time when he was recovering from the death of his father, which I gather was instructive in the breakdown of the marriage,” Townsend told The Gleaner on Wednesday.