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"What seemed like a place of paradise on my last day turned into a complete nightmare," wrote Sue Ramos on a GoFundMe set up for her recovery.
The Jersey City mom was at a bar and looking for a ride back to her hotel on early March 10, the day before she was set to fly back, Ramos tells Daily Voice.
There were no taxis available and the island does not have Ubers, but one of the bartenders' friends said he was a taxi driver, and offered to bring her back.
"Everyone knew him at the establishment nor interjected when he said he drove a taxi so I believed him," Ramos writes. "And with no way of getting back to the hotel and since he said he did taxi I went."
No more than 15 minutes into the ride, the man identified by island police as Davidson Martin attacked her violently, unprovoked.
"I fought for my life and managed to run to the road and flag a car down and these angels took me to the hospital," Ramos said. "But I was hurt badly."
On March 13, 29-year-old Davidson was charged with Inflicting Grievous Bodily Harm, police said.
"The charge was laid following an investigation into the report of a 48-year-old female who arrived at a medical facility on Sunday, March 10, 2024," police said. "Based on the information received and interviews conducted, Mr Martin is alleged to have attacked the female victim."
Ramos lost vision in her left eye and suffered serious damage to the left side of her face, requiring surgery that might not happen until January 2025, she said.
She'll need a pediatric ophthalmologist to perform it, and she's struggling to find one. Finding a new normal since what was supposed to be a joyful birthday trip has been quite the challenge, especially given that she'll be out of work as a shift coordinator at a local hospital, Ramos said.
"I'm just trying to heal," Ramos said in a call with Daily Voice on Saturday, March 23. "I have to wear this eye patch until the surgery and I’m just trying to embrace the changes the best I can. I've been getting a lot of support which really helps me. I'm taking things day by day."
Eventually, Ramos will have to travel back to Turks and Caicos to face "this monster" for trial, she said.
Ramos says police are not saying that the victim of the attack was a tourist, which is why she is hoping to warn other vacationers.
"Be careful where you travel to because paradise can turn into a nightmare for anyone but especially a woman and tourists," she writes on the campaign.
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