No Forgiveness: Acid attack victim in Trinidad speaks out as police delay arrests

Trinidad and Tobago: Almost a month after being lured into an ambush and doused with acid, 21-year-old hairdresser Jessie James said that she cannot find it in her heart to forgive the woman who attacked her.  

According to the information, a woman identified as Niasha Worell, also known as Natifa, made an appointment with Jessie to come to her home in Belmont, Trinidad to do her hair on February 26.  

Upon arrival, they were having a conversation during which Niasha started mixing a substance while accusing Jessie of being with her boyfriend Bobby, a barber on Henry Street, Port-of-Spain. 

Jessie reportedly told the suspect that they were just friends; however, Niasha snatched Jessie’s wig off her head, grabbed her cell phone, and threw acid on her face. 

Niasha, along with another female, fled the scene, and Jessie was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital by a resident who heard her screaming for help. The victim was hospitalised for several days and released on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.  

Even after the report was made with the police officials, they have not made any arrests related to the incident. Recently on Friday, James was asked if she could forgive her attackers. While she expressed gratitude for being alive and recovering, she admitted that she could not forgive the women. 

The victim said that “I could have died from what they did to me. I could have lost my eyesight permanently. She (one of the attackers) didn’t bother to have a conversation or anything with me. She wasn’t trying to be reasonable.” 

The Maraval woman said she was depressed as she felt her life had “come to a halt” as she had to withdraw from a class she was enrolled in. 

James said she remembered being accosted by the women. When the acid was thrown on her face, she initially didn’t feel the burning but felt it after a few seconds. 

“The first thing that hit me was the scent. It smelled like one of those chemicals my aunt uses to clean the toilets. That’s when I realized it was acid. I couldn’t breathe properly and started to run away.” 

James said a nearby resident come to her help and rinsed the acid out of her eyes before taking her to the hospital. 

She said she could not see out of both eyes for the first five days of her stay at the hospital and feared the worst over the extent of the damage to her face. 

One officer in the Port-of-Spain Division said the investigation was being “taken seriously,” adding that while an arrest was expected to be made, he could not confirm if any suspects were in custody as of Friday afternoon. 

The officer said the matter was also being treated with care as one of the suspects was believed to be a minor.