Rushelle Foster, who is on trial for the murder of former rising Reggae Girl Tarania Clarke, is claiming self-defence.

Clarke was stabbed to death during a dispute with Foster in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew on October 31, 2019. Foster, who is on trial for the murder, gave an unsworn statement from the dock in the Supreme Court on Monday, January 15.

Foster stated that she was convinced that if Clarke had been able to take the knife from her then, she would have been the one who would be dead.

When an accused gives an unsworn statement from the dock, they are allowed to give their version of the events without being under oath. It also is not subject to cross-examination as would a sworn testimony.

Frater’s trial began in January 2023 and the prosecution’s first witness was the sole eyewitness to the encounter. The witness told the court that they heard the altercation between the two women and that the accused asserted that the victim was deliberately ignoring her calls. The witness said that the argument continued back and forth with Clarke alleging that her phone was not working well.

After the argument continued for some time, Foster lunged at Clarke trying to get the cellphone and after Clarke pushed her hand away, Foster took out a knife and stabbed the footballer. The witness then said that Clarke exclaimed that she had been stabbed, to which Foster responded that she would do so again before stabbing her a second time.

Rushelle Foster refuted the eyewitness’ account as she remained in the dock for her unsworn statement.

Foster told the court that she had never explored her attraction to women and wanted to experiment with it.

“When I met Tarania she expressed to me that she liked me. I told her I’d never been with a female before so I wasn’t sure I would be able to be committed,” Foster explained to the court.

Foster went on to explain that she decided to pursue the relationship with Clarke but that it soon started to become clear that the two had different values and the relationship started to sour.

“Tarania wanted more of a committed relationship while I was more on the experimental side of things. Because of this, she was always wanting an argument,” Foster said.

The accused alleged that prior to the night of the murder, she told the Reggae Girl that she wanted to end the relationship and Clarke got very angry and hit her. She told the court that she had no intention of getting into a physical altercation with Clarke and asked her to go home. Foster said they did not see each other again until the now famous night that led to Clarke’s death.

Foster, in sharing what transpired from her perspective, alleged that she and Clarke met up that night because the victim claimed that the phone she had got from Foster was not working properly and Foster agreed to see Clarke in order to collect the phone and get the issue checked on her behalf. According to Foster, Clarke attempted to reconcile but Foster was not receptive and that enraged the footballer.

Foster told the court that Clarke grabbed her and started to curse expletives at her while threatening her. Foster said a physical altercation ensued with both women were fighting each other. During the fight, Foster claimed she reached for the knife in her bag while Clarke attempted to take it from her but Foster said she held on to the weapon because “…I know if mi leggo di knife, mi woulda dead,” Foster claimed.

The accused said that the victim pushed her to ground and while she was attempting to get up, Clarke hoisted her shirt to reveal a wound that she said was inflicted by the knife. Foster claimed she dropped the knife and tried to no avail to get attention and help for Clarke. She said when no one would assist her, she left Clarke at the scene for the Half-Way Tree Police Station to get assistance but was also ignored.

None of the police witnesses confirmed being informed that the two women were intimately involved and that Foster admitted to owning the knife. There was also testimony from an expert forensic pathologist that said Clarke’s death was caused by a stab wound that punctured her lung and led to haemorrhage and shock. The expert also testified to a second stab wound in the abdomen.

The defence will continue to make their case in the Supreme Court before the jury and Justice Leighton Pusey on January 16.