On the last night of their Jamaican getaway at a five-star hotel, two Detroit women were soaking in the comforts of their room one last time.
One was Facetiming a friend on the balcony; the other was plopped down on her bed listening to music.
For five days, this room about 1,700 miles south of their homes had been their comfort zone, their safety zone. And then their world changed.
At 11:15 p.m. EDT Thursday, a gunman crawled up their balcony and barged into their second-floor room at the Hotel Riu Reggae in Montego Bay. He raped them both, authorities say.
The nightmare lasted for about 15 minutes until one of the women got hold of the gun and shot the attacker twice before he jumped off the balcony and fled.
“At night, it really haunts me. All I see is his eyes,” the victim who shot the suspect said Monday in an exclusive interview with the Detroit Free Press. “I just want to know why.”
The Free Press and USA TODAY do not disclose the names of sexual assault victims unless they agree to be identified.
But more than that, she wants justice. She wants the attacker to pay for a night of hell that ended with her walking through a hotel half-naked, finding her way to the reception desk and placing a gun on the counter.
“I said, ‘There was a gunman in my room. He raped and robbed me and my friend. And I took the gun and I shot him,” the woman recalled telling the front desk personnel, who summoned police.
The suspect is a 24-year-old hotel employee named Scott Dowe, who had worked at Hotel Riu Reggae just three days before the attack occurred, according to Montego Bay police. The dancer worked for an entertainment company that performed at the hotel.
He was arrested Friday after checking himself into a Jamaican hospital, where medical staff alerted the authorities to a shooting victim. He is in custody and charges are expected, police said.
He had an initial court appearance Tuesday. Hotel manager Frank Sondern declined comment, citing the ongoing police investigation.
Jamican Rape Suspect
The suspect is: Scott Dowe, 24, of Jamaica, who was arrested Friday, Sept. 28, 2018 for allegedly raping two Detroit women vacationing in a Jamaican hotel. One of the victims shot Dowe, who jumped from a hotel balcony and fled.
Montego Bay Police Department,
Lee Bailey, chairman of a police civic committee in St. James, Jamaica, said he is concerned that the hotel did not properly screen the employee suspected in the attack.
“We have very strict rules as to who works in hotels,” Bailey said. “Anybody who wants to invest in Jamaica must abide by and respect those regulations.”
Bailey added: “I’ve never heard of this happening before.”
Meanwhile back in Detroit, the victims are reeling and demanding justice, noting that the U.S. Embassy did not contact them until four days after they returned home from their vacation.
The victim who shot the suspect is a medical lab operator and mother of a 3-year-old girl who went to Jamaica with a friend last week to celebrate her 33rd birthday. Her friend is a health care employee though she has remained private so far about the incident.
The two had planned this trip for months and each spent $1,200 for the all-inclusive, five-night getaway at the beachfront hotel.
The victim who shot the suspect described in detail what happened that night:
The 33-year-old woman started Facetiming with a friend at about 10:45 p.m. while out on the balcony. At about 11:15, she hung up on the friend and went into her hotel room.
In a matter of seconds, a gunman stormed into their room through the balcony door.
“He said, ‘Where’s the money?'”
The women said they didn’t have money.
The gunman got louder: “What the (expletive) you mean you don’t have any money?”
The women got scared and threw their credit cards on the bed. One offered to go to an ATM.
Then he cocked the gun. The women screamed.
“Oh my God! Please don’t kill us! We’ve got kids.”
Then he ordered them to turn the lights off, and threatened to kill them if they didn’t.
They followed orders.
In the dark, he forced both women on their knees. He ordered one to give him oral sex while the other watched. Then he did the same to the other.
He eventually ordered them on the bed where he raped them. At one point, he set the gun down on the bed.
One of the victims noticed, and while being raped, she fought back.
“I grabbed the gun and started shooting,” she recalled, noting there were only two bullets. She fired them both into his arm. He ran out the door and jumped off the balcony.
Her roommate ran down the hall screaming, wearing only a top. She followed calmly, with the gun at her right side, and went to the front desk for help.
When police arrived, they took the women to the hospital, where they underwent rape tests. They gave their statements to police at another hotel and left for Detroit the next day.
The police were kind and helpful, the one victim said. The hotel seemed indifferent, they said.
Hotel officials apologized for the incident and offered to refund the trip.
“They acted as if they had never heard of this before,” said the victim, noting that she’s grateful she was able to get the gun. Had she not, she said: “They would have looked at me like, ‘This story is fake.’”
The suspect allegedly stole the gun from another hotel guest’s room, according the police report. Officers obtained the blood from the scene, presumably the gunman’s, along with a bag they believe belonged to him.
The Detroit woman who shot the suspect is a registered gun holder. However, it was the first time she had to use her shooting skills for self-defense.
The woman said she is coming forward to help other sex assault victims feel more comfortable about speaking out as well. And she needs healing.
“I feel empty, like something is missing,” she said. “I just want to know why? What targeted me? Did (he) just see me as an opportunity?”
But talking helps, she noted: “It makes me feel better every time I talk about it.”
Ed Zelenak, a Michigan-based lawyer who serves as legal counsel to the St. James Police Civic Committee in Jamaica, said he was surprised to learn of the attack.
“It’s odd something like this happened at that hotel. It’s a safe hotel,” Zelenak said. “Whoever did this had to have been familiar with the place.”
Zelenak, who travels to Jamaica frequently, noted that the case will take some time to wind its way through the court system.
“Jamaica has a slower judicial system than the U.S.,” he said, adding that he expects the U.S. government to get involved.
“The U.S. and Jamaican courts and governments have a good relationship,” he said. “It’s a sad case, but justice will be served.”
As for the woman who shot the attacker, Zelenak said: “It’s encouraging to see one of the victims engage in self-defense and hold her ground.”
Something ain’t right, they said rape and the guy said it was not because both women agreed smh either way this is not a good look for Jamaica I feel really embarrassed!!!!
Heard it was a 3sum..I really don’t c how a man could attempt to rape two women at once.
I’m just wondering how did the gun end up there.
I went to Jamaica years ago alone just to relax, before i went to kingston, i stopped in mobay. One night, i was at the bar at one of these resorts, where i saw two white women flirting with the bartender, apparently one was getting married the following day. It seems they wanted sex, but the bartender told them he was on duty and couldn’t leave at the moment. So the turned to me and said what about this one?
I asked them what about him? because 1. i don’t mess with white women 2. I don’t trust them 3. Do i look frighten to have sex with a tourist?…Shiid!
He held a gun on them that was ready to fire, have u had a gun held in you?? Just saying or pretending to have a gun is tormenting.
If a so it go as there is a God, when mi done fire shot, his balls and dick couldn’t locate. I would pray say him live dick-less. I wouldn’t even look Pon nuh justice system.
Whatever it was whether crime or 3sum gone wrong he was a wanted man and too hype to even want to sex off two guests and him barely on the job, still on probation, and only two rass days under his belt. No iyah, this f**boi was too damn much. Him too rass much and bat shit crazy. Who does all of that after being on the job for two days Even those who plan fi supplement their income with sexing guests on the side actually wait until they fully have the job and learn the ins and outs of the work before they move forward with their plan, not while on probation. I actually am leaning towards believing the women’s story, dem seh truth is stranger than fiction. To how him nuff and wanted by the law, I could see him believing he is invincible and can get away with anything.
If she actually ran to the front desk half naked their story is probably believable. If it was consensual then what is the point of getting jealous, everyone waits their turn, is ongle one dick to go around. Even if he was paying attention to one more than the other she could have walked out and let them be, how the gun come into play during sex. I’ve been around the block a few times even had some dalliances with hood niggaz and me never see no gun round me, and these were harder street dudes, but they keep that side of themselves out the bedroom, so the whole gun during sex is throwing shit off unless f**kboi was the one who brought the gun to begin with, which makes his side of the story hard to believe.
Are they sisters/relatives? Why were they sharing one room?
The very fact this tiefing man had a gun he stole with him means he should have died right there and then. Who brings a gun to a threesome! Dutty shit went there to rob and ending up raping them because the opportunity presented itself, he felt he had the power and could get away with it.
I know someone who had a friend who was at the hotel at the same time. She said the women were all over the men that worked there
I don’t know but they went too far with a wanted man. The truth is somewhere in the middle. All my years in tourism I have never heard of anything like this.