Woman pleads not guilty of setting daughter on fire

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution will have to prove its case against the woman accused of setting her teenage daughter on fire over two years ago
At her arraignment in the High Court yesterday, Nicole “Nikki” Pitter, 41, entered a plea of not guilty for the January 1, 2016, fire at their New Withorpes home. The fire left Shaveesa Gasper, her daughter, with up to 40 percent burns about her body.
Nine months after the blaze, the 41-year-old was indicted on an attempted murder charge of the 2015 Teen Explosion winner. The indictment also included the lesser charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) and unlawful wounding.
Yesterday, Pitter and Sherfield Bowen, her attorney, appeared before High Court Justice Keith Thom. No date was set for her trial and the Clare Hall woman remains on bail.
Should the case go to trial and she is found guilty by a jury of her peers, Pitter faces a maximum sentence of 35 years for the greater charge, a maximum of 15 years for the GBH charge or a maximum of five years for simple wounding.
(More in today’s Daily Observer)