A brutal sibling assault has left the Boston community in shock as 19-year-old Dream Gillenwater faces charges for attacking her sister after a night on the town. Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden declared that Gillenwater was charged with one count of assault and battery, and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, identified as her shod feet and the sidewalk, Boston 25 News reported.
Boston Police found the 24-year-old victim, gasping for breath on the ground, after responding to a distressing call. Having been out drinking with her sister, Gillenwater was on the scene, overtaken by alcohol, according to the District Attorney, and exhibiting aggressive behavior toward the officers. Gillenwater recounted how the evening unfolded, after officers subdued her heightened state, MassLive reported.
DA Hayden elucidated the severity of the incident, "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." A witness, reporting to the police, claimed to have seen the sisters embroiled in a heated dispute at a bus stop before the violence escalated, with Gillenwater striking her sister in the head as she tried to walk away. Surveillance footage from a nearby school later confirmed the harrowing scene, showing Gillenwater stomping on and dragging the victim's head against the pavement multiple times.
Highlighting the severity of the assault, Hayden said, the street saw Gillenwater took to aggravated violence, using both feet to stand on the victim's head after slamming it against the sidewalk. In efforts to prevent further harm, a responsible citizen intervened and dialed 911, prompting the police to arrive swiftly at 174 Ipswich Street, according to Boston 25 News.
In response to the event, Gillenwater was ordered by the court to have no contact with her sister, abstain from consuming any alcohol or drugs, and is to be monitored with a GPS tracking device upon posting bail set at $1,000. The case has been scheduled to continue on February 8 at the pre-trial hearing.
