Jordan Spencer sets a woman alight with petrol after dispute

A Shepparton woman set alight during an argument fought back tears in court as she described seeing her skin and clothes melt while she frantically attempted to put out the blaze.

Paris Carpio fought back tears in the Supreme Court while describing a horrific arson attack that put her in a coma for more than three months.

A Shepparton woman who spent months in a coma after being set alight following an argument over an e-scooter has spoken about how she survived the shocking arson attack.

After more than three months in a coma and continued rehabilitation, 21-year-old Paris Carpio mustered enough strength to attend the Supreme Court in Shepparton on Monday when the woman responsible for the attack appeared for a plea hearing.

Jordan Spencer, 33, pleaded guilty to a charge of intentionally causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence in February.

The horrific attack began on the evening of January 15 when Ms Carpio went to Spencer’s Shepparton home in a fit of rage, accused the latter’s boyfriend Robert McLaren of stealing her e-scooter and demanded it back.

Crown prosecutor John Dickie told the court that Spencer confronted Ms Carpio and suggested that she come closer so she could “get what she deserved”. She threw petrol over Ms Carpio’s head and attempted to ignite the fuel and was successful after several attempts.

Jordan Spencer has admitted pouring accelerant on Paris Carpio and setting her head alight during an argument over a stolen e-scooter.

Ms Carpio was flown to The Alfred with severe burns to her body and required multiple surgery and was in a coma for three and a half months.

In her victim impact statement, she said Spencer didn’t just hurt her body but destroyed part of her spirit.

She said there was no warning, no sign of what was to going to happen and that she had no idea Spencer carried an accelerant.

“I had no time to defend myself, no time to run. I remember the sensation of fire consume my skin. The indescribable pain that overwhelmed every nerve.

“I blacked out. When I gained consciousness, I found myself on the road, my clothes and skin melting. I was desperately trying to put out the flames.”

Ms Carpio said she blacked out a second time and became conscious when emergency service personnel began hosing water on her.

“I screamed until I lost consciousness again. My burns were so severe my body couldn’t cope with the trauma. My body fought to stay alive,” she recalled.

Ms Carpio said her family watched over helplessly and were told that she may not survive.

She could barely move after coming out of coma and couldn’t communicate with anyone.

“ It was only after I began to understand what had happened to me, that I’d been intentionally set on fire, that the flashbacks began.

“Horrified images were played over and over in my head, and there was no escape,” she said.

The court heard that Spencer has had long standing mental health and drug issues and that her relationship with Mr McLaren was “tumultuous”.

Spencer was remanded in custody for sentencing at a later date.