A 19-year-old is accused of brutally attacking her older sister after the two had been out drinking together in Boston last month.
Dream Gillenwater was charged in Roxbury Municipal Court on Thursday with one count of assault and battery and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (shod foot, sidewalk) in connection to the Dec. 8, 2023, incident, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office announced on Sunday. Gillenwater, of Dorchester, was ordered held on $1,000 bail and other conditions if released, including staying away from her sister and refraining from alcohol and drugs.
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According to prosecutors, on Friday, Dec. 8, Boston police responded to a call for an unconscious person at 174 Ipswich Street and found a 24-year-old on the ground, seemingly out of breath.
Gillenwater, who was also at the scene, appeared intoxicated and was verbally abusive toward the officers, telling them she and her sister had been out drinking, the DA said.
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A witness told police that he saw the two arguing at a bus stop and then saw Gillenwater “slugging” her sister in the back of the head as the sister attempted to walk away, officials say.
The witness said he tried to stop the altercation while also calling 911, however the victim fell to the ground where Gillenwater allegedly continued to assault her.
According to the district attorney's office, Boston detectives obtained video surveillance from a nearby school that corroborated the witness’s account.
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The video also showed Gillenwater stomping on the victim’s head several times, standing with both feet on the victim’s head, and then grabbing the victim’s head and slamming it against the sidewalk about four times, prosecutors say.
“The brutality of this assault is evident from the facts, but that it was an attack on a sibling gives it an added dimension of tragedy," Kevin Hayden said in a statement Sunday. "It’s fortunate for the victim that the witness called 911 and police responded so quickly."
Gillenwater is due back in court on Feb. 8 for a pre-trial hearing.
