The Home Circuit Court is awaiting details of a compensation package for the victims of a 2021 acid attack before sentencing convicted pay clerk Nicolene Gray. Gray, who pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent, was ordered by Justice Leighton Pusey to determine a compensation plan with her attorneys. 

Woman to be sentenced for acid attack that left victim with severe burns and blind in one eye

Jamaica Gleaner/22 Feb 2025/Tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com

NICOLENE GRAY, a 43-year-old pay clerk, is set to be sentenced on April 9 in the Home Circuit Court after pleading guilty to a brutal acid attack that left another woman blind in one eye and with severe burns.

The attack, reportedly stemming from an alleged love triangle, occurred on a Coaster bus in St Andrew nearly three years ago.

Gray, who also injured a male bus driver and a female passenger, pleaded guilty to three counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. She appeared dispirited in court, dressed in a black dress, as she entered her plea yesterday.

The primary victim, whose partner Gray was allegedly involved with, suffered third-degree burns to her face, shoulder, neck, chest, and back. The other victims sustained burns to their bodies from the corrosive substance.

The attack took place on October 1, 2021, when Gray and the three victims were travelling on a bus heading to Half-way Tree. As the intended target signalled for a stop and turned to exit, Gray doused her with the acidic substance.

She continued the assault as the woman spun around, leaving her skin appearing to melt.

The caustic liquid also injured the bus driver and the female passenger. Authorities later recovered a ketchup bottle containing the substance at the scene. Gray was arrested and charged that same day.

Presiding over the case, Justice Leighton Pusey ordered a social inquiry report and requested Gray’s criminal records. He also instructed Gray and her attorneys, John Clarke and Sasheeka Richards, to decide quickly on potential compensation for the victims.

“Compensation is a factor and not a replacement for sentencing, it’s a consideration. It doesn’t mean that the court will not sentence you,” Justice Pusey cautioned, emphasising that the court would not delay sentencing indefinitely for compensation arrangements.

Senior Deputy Director of Prosecutions Claudette Thompson and Crown Counsel Debra Bryan represented the Crown.

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