Abbie Lee Davidson Halmarson in court for assaulting person over 60

When an elderly woman asked her neighbour to turn her music down, she copped a drenching with a hose, and it wasn’t the last time her younger neighbour attacked her.

A Bundaberg mum has found herself behind bars after two serious assaults on an older woman.

Abbie Lee Davidson Halmarson pleaded guilty in Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Monday to two counts of serious assault of a person over 60 and one count of breaching bail.

The first serious assault happened on September 16, 2021, when Halmarson, who lived at East Bundaberg at the time, was approached by her neighbour and asked to turn down her loud music.

Instead of obliging, Halmarson turned the hose on her elderly neighbour, wetting her face and head.

After the neighbour reported the incident to police, Halmarson was granted bail to appear in court, with a bail condition being that she did not approach her neighbour.

But on the day of the court appearance, January 28, 2022, Halmarson approached the victim on the courthouse steps.

The court heard Halmarson asked her neighbour how she was and the neighbour replied, “I’m well thanks Abbie”.

Halmarson then walked up the steps before turning around, walking back down the steps and grabbing the victim’s face mask, throwing it to the ground.

Halmarson, who had a criminal record, would not initially admit doing this to police, but when presented with CCTV footage of the incident, admitted she had, the court heard.

Halmarson, who was self-represented and appeared via videolink from the Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre, said she felt harassed by her neighbour and had not realised her actions constituted assault.

Magistrate Edwina Rowan said court should be a safe space.

“People certainly deserve safety when coming to court,” she said.

The court heard Halmarson had since moved house and had spent 13 days in pre-sentence custody.

She pleaded guilty to all three charges.

For breach of bail, Halmarson was sentenced to one months’ prison, for the two charges of serious assault of a person over 60, she received a sentence of six months for each offence, to be served concurrently.

Halmarson was granted immediate parole.