Mildura mum Jayde Maddigan jailed after savage supermarket brawl leaves woman needing multiple surgeries

A Mildura mum’s attempt to steal a 10-pack of bourbon ended in a horrific brawl with a shop assistant who needed extensive surgery to her face.

A drunken booze thief brutally smashed a woman in the face leaving her with devastating orbital bone fractures and requiring multiple surgeries. Picture: Supplied

A drunken Mildura mum shattered a woman’s face in a savage struggle over a stolen 10-pack of bourbon, with the victim’s face so badly damaged she required multiple surgeries and therapy for ongoing trauma, a court heard.

Jayde Maddigan fronted Mildura Magistrates’ Court on Friday where she pleaded guilty to multiple charges including recklessly causing injury, assault, and failure to answer bail.

The court heard Maddigan entered Foodworks on Deakin Ave on April 14 last year, grabbed a 10-pack of Woodstock bourbon, and walked out without paying.

After a confrontation with a witness, Maddigan clashed violently with a female staff member attempting to retrieve the stolen alcohol.

The fight spilt into the tub of a ute parked outside, with the two wrestling over the booze until Maddigan struck the woman in the eye, causing immediate bleeding.

Maddigan stole a 10-pack of Woodstock bourbon from PJ's Foodworks in Mildura which instigated the brawl. Picture: Stuart Kavanagh

Police were forced to abandon attempts to interview the victim due to the severity of her injuries, rushing her to hospital instead.

The court heard the victim suffered multiple severe facial fractures around her eye, requiring multiple surgeries and continues to experience nerve damage, impaired sight, and severe anxiety, for which she remains in therapy.

When she was arrested, Maddigan told police the attack was out of character and she “didn’t believe in stealing”.

“I don’t believe in stealing at all, it’s a massive sin, so it is out of character (for me),” Maddigan told police.

Maddigan’s lawyer Hugh Middleton argued for a community corrections order (CCO), a suggestion immediately rejected by Magistrate Michael Coghlan.

Magistrate Michael Coghlan told Maddigan “if you are not a lost cause, you are pretty much close to it”

“She has smashed someone’s whole face, all the bones around the eye socket have required multiple surgeries. The only way I would consider (a CCO) is on the tail end of a term of imprisonment,” Mr Coghlan said.

Maddigan put her head in her hands and broke down in tears several times during the hearing.

“I think the tears you are crying today (Ms Maddigan) are not for any victim you have hurt over the years, they are tears for the consequences you face as a result of your actions,” Mr Coghlan said.

Maddigan bizarrely blurted out from the dock that she intended to pay back PJ Foodworks for the booze when she got paid.

“Madam, if you are not a lost cause, you are pretty much close to it. You are 38 years old and have made no changes in yourself to the issues that give rise to your offending,” Mr Coghlan said.

Maddigan was sentenced to six months behind bars, with one day reckoned as pre-sentence detention, followed by an 18-month CCO upon her release.