Bella Walker’s Mother Granted Bail

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A Supreme Court judge has granted the mother of four-year-old Bella Walker bail. In an affidavit, the woman said she is in a confused state of mind and must receive counselling.

Kyle Walkine has been following this story and has the latest developments.

In an emergency bail hearing, 29-year-old Ostonya Walker, the mother of Bella Walker, has been granted bail in the amount of $20,000 with one or two sureties by Supreme Court justice Guillimina Archer-Minns.

It’s just the latest twist in this saga as Bella awaits burial.

Earlier this month, Bella’s mother was charged with exposing the four-year-old to grievous harm and cruelty, while her boyfriend was charged with murder.

In court, Walker’s attorneys Barry Sawyer and Rhodereka Strachan read an affidavit taken from her on November 25th.

In it, the child’s mother says at the time of her death, she was at work at the Registrar General’s Department and left her in the care of her boyfriend, 33-year-old Darion Smith.

She said as she left the child with him, she did not know how her child met her untimely demise but she said she was taken to the morgue to identify the child’s remains.

In that affidavit, Walker continued saying she is a single mother and not of flight risk. She said she is in a confused state of mind and must receive counseling. If granted bail, she promised, in that affidavit, that she would attend all counseling sessions and said her aunt would assure she did. Walker says she would ensure the proper internment of the child.

Her attorney argued that walker grew up in Grand Bahama and spent time in Abaco and only moved to Nassau for financial reasons.

The prosecution had no objection to bail as Walker has no previous convictions or pending matters.

In making her decision, the Supreme Court justice noted this fact and that with offences like these, bail is routinely granted.

Walker will also have to hand over her passport and report to the Wulff Road police station on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays by 7pm.

On the other side of Bank Lane, the court battle continues as Bella’s maternal grandmother seeks to have her body removed from Serenity Funeral Home, out of the care of the child’s paternal family, allowing her maternal relatives to make funeral arrangements.

That matter is being heard privately before Justice Loren Klein, with a ruling expected by the end of the week.

Bella’s mother returns to court on September 17, 2022 for the start of trial.