Mother of Five Granted Bail After Three Months in Prison
Nichole Gilda McDonald, a mother of five, is out on bail after spending more than three months behind bars, and says she is eager to reunite with her children.
McDonald appeared in court after being escorted from the Belize Central Prison. The magistrate granted her bail of eight hundred dollars, plus one surety in the same amount. Under the conditions of her release, she must report to police once a week and must not be arrested or charged with another offence while on bail.
McDonald had been on remand since June 8th after being accused of assaulting a doctor and a nurse at the Matron Roberts Polyclinic. That arrest allegedly violated bail conditions from an earlier common assault case, prompting Magistrate Neshaad Mohammed to revoke her bail at the time. She was also given ten pages of disclosure in the harm case involving Dr. Andre Castillo, tied to an alleged incident on June 6th. That case is scheduled for trial on October 21st.
McDonald said she spent three months, two weeks, and one day in prison, including time in isolation after being sanctioned. While on remand, she participated in the Ashcroft Rehabilitation Program and completed anger-management sessions. Though she maintains her innocence, she said the program taught her valuable lessons.
She also claimed several attempts have been made on her life and said she knows who is responsible. Those claims have not been independently verified.
McDonald faces several other criminal matters, including assault, wounding, property damage, and insulting-words charges stemming from alleged incidents on June 5th. She is also facing a cybercrime charge involving former Commissioner of Police Chester Williams, with prosecutors alleging she used a computer system to publish comments damaging his character.
McDonald is representing herself in all three matters. She has pleaded not guilty and says she intends to challenge every allegation at trial.
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