Mother of 8 facing jail for violent attack
(CNS): A mother of eight children who attacked a woman with what was believed to be a kitchen cleaver after she saw her husband on the victim’s lap in the restaurant that the coupled owned is now facing a lengthy period in jail. The court heard Friday that Leleith Monique Welcome-Campbell (36) had committed the offence while on a suspended sentence following an earlier violence conviction.
In what is Welcome-Campbell’s fourth conviction for violence since she was a teenager, she assaulted her husband as well as the woman whose lap he had chosen to sit on at their George Town restaurant in July this year.
Delivering several blows with the kitchen knife, she inflicted a serious 8-centimeter wound to the victim’s forehead.
However, the court heard that from the moment the incident happened Welcome was remorseful and had taken responsibility for the attack. She admitted the assault to police after her arrest and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to a charge of wounding. Defence attorney Crister Brady had noted the serious personality disorders his client had been diagnosed with, as well as the cycle of violence from her own background that she has been trapped in.
Brady described Welcome-Campbell’s husband as unfit to be a parent and partner, and said that she had suffered violence at the hands of everyone who should have cared for her, and this had caused her to inflict violence on others, including her own children and mother.
Aside from an array of mental health problems that made her “zealous and hotheaded” and distrustful of everyone, Welcome-Campbell’s unpredictable behaviour was not helped by the fact that she had also misused drug and alcohol since she was very young, Brady told the court.
He said she had been a mother since she was 17 years old and she was trying hard to change, but knew she would be going to jail for some time and was now very worried about her eight children, who had been in foster care since she had been arrested. Brady said his client was desperate to put things right and be given a chance to do things over, urging the court to mix mercy with justice as the judge sought the appropriate sentence.
Justice Marlene Carter, who presided over the sentence hearing, adjourned the case to consider the submissions and said she would deliver the sentence in early October.
Social Services has a history of having removed kids from a home for years (because the situation has not improved) and the parent will have another and instead of immediately removing them and putting them up for adoption, they leave that newborn there to suffer the same abuse as the ones removed until “signs of abuse are evident” or reported. In addition they allow the children to go back to the same environment and sleep over for a weekend or during school break subjecting the child repeatedly to the same abuse and neglect, makes no sense.
It’s not just Social services. It is also judges. They force visitation on children that don’t want to visit parents that are obvious and proven abusers for the sake of keeping a family together. I really don’t see the point of it. Especially when sometimes the parent is in jail and the mother had to bring her abused children to their abuser father for visitation in jail.
Was she accused of committing GBH and if so, was this charge dropped?.
this poor lady needs tender care and attention and her family should see that she is properly cared for in that respect.
And if only Cayman would have had the sense to look after its youths mental health and education years ago this may have never happened. Blame Caymanians
Blame yo Mama.
Lele has been subject to years of abuse and those who don’t know find it easy to cast stones.
So it’s ok for her to assault others? How about we agree to be compassionate and provide her metal health treatment whilst removing her from the general public where she can harm others?
This is what you all think about me huh? Well my kids think different because they know what they went through now and they understood why, that’s all that matters to me, now with that being said let’s discuss your skeletons that you have hidden away for so many years, oh wait that’ll never happen!! Typical shit heads! Just defending what’s right and the greatest thing I owned it I never lied for compassion I told the cold hard truth!
Where is the early intervention in Cayman? We seem content to just write people off, but this woman is an example of everything gone wrong from a young age – poor parents, violence, mental health and addiction problems, low self esteem and having too many children at a young age that she can’t care for. I agree that ultimately she’s responsible for her actions but she can’t solve these problems on her own and who wins when she goes to jail? Not her, and certainly not her children. Early intervention programs and support for any or all of these issues could quite possibly have prevented things from going this far and helped her to be a productive member of society and a good parent – and wouldn’t we rather pay for that than for her to be in prison and her children in foster care? Such a shame and a waste all the way around.
Ask Tara. She celebrates each year her achievements in abuse intervention on this rock
Do you honestly think her children would be better off being brought up by a parent with a record of violence, including violence against said children, and multiple personality disorders?
Why are these articles always have a title like “Mother of….”? When a Caymanian male is involved in a violent confrontation the title normally contains something like “local man”; and when it is a man from another country you see something like “George Town man”.
Good point
Prison is exactky she deserves and she should pay big money in compensation to the victim too
Cause even though CNS tries to be fair they’re jounalism is still bias and sexist at times. One of the perks of moderating information online.
Because we live in a society where motherhood is put on a pedestal above everything else. If you aren’t a mother then what are you? The media portrait good fathers as being few and far between so stating someone is a father of …. doesn’t bring any emotions up for the reader of the article. Whereas if it’s a mother, well that is far more shocking because mothers are nurturing and kind and make the world go round.
Separating her from her children and everybody else for 5 or 10 years seems like the way to go. There are no perfect options here.
I smoked ganja every day all through highschool, during the summer. I have YET to assault anyone, especially wtih a knife. Sorry, but that’s a lame excuse.And if you were beat as a child, or abused. Why would you continue it. Another excuse.
How well did you do in school? In life?
Probably better than you.
You watched reefer madness and believed the lies, didn’t you!
to 131. I am a working professional. Making a good living. Besides. God grew it. As long as you didn’t abuse it. It’s not any different than table salt to be honest. You over indulge in anything, and it’s bad for you. But why is Ganja the boogeyman?
Yea right. GOd grew maiden plum and nightshade too! Wanna smoke that? Smoking it every day during high school and holidays sounds very much like drug abuse to me.
Sounds like a good time to me!
What’s your poison? Seriously, is it alcohol, pain killers, cigarette, or are you completely sin-free, with clean hands and pure heart?
Eight children in 9 years.
Nineteen years
Eight children. People need to get birth control.
Shut up
Husband sitting in the lap of a woman? Lucky she didnt stab him instead.
Free condoms plus legalise early abortion and morning after pill. Give women the choice.
Also known as idiots!! You got 8 children and you fighting for a man that dont want you!!!
CNS, it’s a kitchen “cleaver” but that wasn’t very clever of her!
CNS: Oops! Thanks.