Jodi Renelle Murphy pleads guilty in Roma Magistrates Court to assault, public nuisance, wilful and unlawful damage

A 25-year-old Roma mother has fronted court for a string of violent offences she committed during an alcohol-induced rage. Here’s what happened in court.

A 25-year-old woman was so drunk she couldn’t remember pulling apart a man’s fence and punching another in the face, a court has been told.

Jodi Renelle Murphy pleaded guilty in Roma Magistrates Court to assault, public nuisance and wilful and unlawful damage.

Police prosecutions said officers were called to a disturbance at a Roma address at 9pm in July 2022.

Murphy was identified by police after she was captured on camera yelling at a number of people who were standing on the front deck of their home, the court was told.

“The defendant engaged in a verbal altercation (and) tried to enter through the front gate as she continued yelling at occupants,” prosecutions said.

“A male occupant threw a piece of wood at the defendant.

“The defendant then tried pulling a panel off the fence.”

Jodi Renelle Murphy pleaded guilty in Roma Magistrates Court to assault, public nuisance and wilful and unlawful damage.

The court was told events escalated after the defendant punched a different man in the face, who subsequently suffered bruising and swelling on the side of his face.

Murphy told police she was drunk and didn’t remember what happened that night.

“She has been afforded probation and community orders in the past, but resorts to violence,” prosecutions said.

Defence lawyer Laurie Parker said his client and the home’s occupants were known to each other and someone in the group had previously hurt her brother.

Mr Parks said his client’s brother “found himself in conflict with these people” and she was confronting them about it.

Magistrate Shane Elliott said if one of the occupants had done something to her brother, she should have gone to the police.

“It really makes no sense to me why you did what you did. It does not sound like a reasonable explanation to go there,” he said.

“Some form of sticking up for your brother, but why you go to someone’s house and get involved in this?

“You’ve just got to deal with conflict in a different way, you can’t yell at people if you don’t get your way.”

Murphy was sentenced to four months imprisonment, wholly suspended for 12 months, for the assault charge and convicted but not further punished for the other two charges. All convictions were recorded.