By Raymond Kongwa, Guardian Senior Reporter

Jackie Moxey contested and won softball championships in her storied involvement with the sport. But the brilliant athlete lost a more important battle yesterday: the fight for her life.

The 44-year-old died at the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) shortly after 11a.m. yesterday. She had been taken to hospital Tuesday, after sustaining serious injuries to her head.

"Sometime Tuesday before 3 p.m. [Ms Moxey] and a male were in the in the area of Clifton Pier when an altercation took place," Police Liaison Officer, Inspector Walter Evans, told The Guardian yesterday. "And as a result [Ms Moxey] received injuries."

A hospital source who spoke on the condition of anonymity because PMH staff are not permitted to give information on patients to the media, said yesterday that Ms Moxey had been "brutally beaten."

Ms Moxey was on life-support when she died. The man believed to be involved in the incident that led to her death was in police custody last night helping investigators with inquires into the matter.

"He is in his 40s," revealed Inspector Evans, adding, "There is no address on him."

The police liaison officer did not rule out reports that the suspect had served time in prison for causing the death of another woman in a domestic violence incident. "We have to check our records to verify that," he said. Assistant Police Commissioner responsible for crime, Reginald Ferguson, said the matter was being treated as a homicide and revealed that charges would likely be brought against the suspect.

"It is being treated as a homicide," he told The Guardian in an exclusive interview last night. " I'm confident charges will be brought by the end of the week." Lindsay Thompson-Knowles, a colleague of Ms Moxey's at Bahamas Information Services (BIS), described the supervisor in the Information Technology section, as a "wonderful human being."

"She was a pleasure to work with and a pleasure to be around," said the BIS Senior Information Officer. "I couldn't go a day without talking to her. I had to go up and say hi to Jackie everyday."

Mrs Thompson-Knowles said Ms Moxey left work for lunch Tuesday but never returned. " I saw her that day and after she left for lunch she never came back."

BIS Executive Director Edward Ellis said the entire agency felt a great void with the loss of Ms Moxey.

"We are all distraught and we are just trying to cope with her loss," he told The Guardian. "She was just a super person, a hard worker and very pleasant."

Mr Ellis also conveyed condolences to Ms Moxey's family.

Her slaying marks the 44th homicide in The Bahamas so far this year. Police also reported yesterday that a man was discovered shot dead in a house still under construction in Lyford Cay.

"Shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday there was a discovery of a male body," said Inspector Evans. "This is homicide number 43.

He said the man, who is believed to be in his 20s, was found bound at the hands and feet with duct tape. He also had an apparent gunshot wound to the head. Investigators were reportedly able to positively identify the dead man yesterday but did not reveal his identity to The Guardian before press time.