BARAMITA, North West District — A 19-year-old woman from Baramita is in custody after telling police she stabbed her boyfriend, 20-year-old miner Kevin Smith, during a violent altercation at their camp on Thursday evening.
According to investigators, the teenager, identified as Nadria James, walked into the Baramita Police Station shortly after the incident and admitted to stabbing Smith. She claimed the act came after he attacked her with a cutlass.
Police reports state that James had returned to the camp around 5 p.m. on September 18 after consuming alcohol. She found Smith lying in his hammock, and an argument quickly spiraled out of control. Smith allegedly picked up a cutlass and struck her on the shoulder and hand. At that point, James reportedly pulled a handmade knife from her waist and stabbed him once in the chest.
Smith stumbled out of the camp but collapsed in nearby bushes. When police, guided by James, arrived at the scene, they found him lying on his back, motionless, with blood on his body and a stab wound in his chest.
He was taken to the Baramita Cottage Hospital, where Medex Holy Hedglow pronounced him dead. His body is awaiting a post-mortem examination.
Police confirmed that James has been arrested and remains in custody as the investigation continues. Officers have not yet said whether she will be charged with murder or if her account of self-defense will factor into the case.
The death has shaken Baramita, a remote community where alcohol, domestic disputes, and isolation often combine to tragic effect. For James, who has lived with Smith in the small wooden and plastic camp for about a year, the case now turns on whether her actions will be seen as retaliation or survival.
