Ipswich mum Jamie Leigh Skeen sentenced for bashing woman with glass bottle

A punter at a landmark race day has narrowly avoided jail for a jealous fit of rage where she beat her victim with a glass bottle after she was triggered by one petty thing.

Ipswich mum Jamie Leigh Skeen, sentenced on February 8, 2023, for bashing a woman with a glass bottle. Picture: Facebook

An Ipswich mum drunkenly assaulted a woman by smashing her in the head eight times with a glass bottle causing chaos at a major Ipswich racing event, a court has heard.

Redbank Plains mother Jamie Leigh Skeen, 26, pleaded guilty in Ipswich District Court on February 8, 2023, to one count of unlawfully wounding another person.

The court heard Skeen and her boyfriend at the time had attended a race meeting at Ipswich Turf Club, Bundamba on June 19, 2021 – the date of that year’s landmark Ipswich Cup event.

Skeen saw her boyfriend speaking to another woman, who was a stranger and a similar age to her.

The court heard Skeen approached the woman and struck her in the head with a glass bottle eight times.

The bottle didn’t smash, but its liquid contents spilt over the victim.

Judge Dennis Lynch said the victim suffered a 1cm laceration to her scalp, bruising to the side of her face, and had headaches for some time after the attack.

“On one level it is quite disturbing that you attacked her for no obvious reason – perhaps because of the interaction between her and your boyfriend,” he said.

“It seems this occurred because of your significant level of intoxication … that of course is no excuse.”

Judge Lynch said Skeen’s short criminal history wasn’t particularly relevant, as it did not include any instances of violence.

Defence barrister Allana Danie said Skeen was a single mum of a six-year-old, whose father was no longer in the picture.

She said Skeen’s relationship with her boyfriend had been troubled at the time, and Skeen had overreacted to the situation due to her intoxication.

Ms Davie said her client didn’t usually drink alcohol, and that this offending appeared to be an isolated incident.

The court heard Skeen had a Certificate 3 in hospitality, and was currently working towards a certificate in business administration.

She was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, wholly suspended for two years.