Woman struck partner on head with bottle

A WANAKA woman who hit her expartner on the head with a beer bottle has been sentenced to six months’ supervision.

Appearing before Judge Bernadette Farnan in the Queenstown District Court yesterday, Amanda Carol Barrow (29) was convicted of assaulting Ross Malcolm McGregor on September 10 last year, in Wanaka.

The charge was found proven at a disputed facts hearing on August 21, when Barrow admitted the assault but denied hitting the victim with a bottle.

Eight days after the assault, Barrow wrote a social media post saying Mr McGregor, the father of her two children, was using drugs. That prompted him to go to the police about the assault.

During the August hearing, a friend and flatmate of the victim, Jorden Gwilliam, gave evidence that after arriving home from work on the evening of the assault, he and the victim started drinking beer in the garage’s ‘‘man cave’’.

Barrow walked in, said ‘‘Ross, we need to talk’’, then hit the victim on the side of the head with his beer bottle.

The pair started to argue, and Jorden told her to leave the property.

Outside the garage, he pretended to film her with his phone.

Under crossexamination by counsel Kirsty Allen, Mr Gwilliam denied the victim was holding a bong, or that Barrow threw cannabis leaf at the victim.

The victim had followed Barrow outside, but did not put her in a headlock, threaten her with a raised fist or throw her handbag on the road, as she had claimed.

He denied deleting cellphone footage of the incident because it was ‘‘damning’’ for the victim.

Mr McGregor said he and Barrow had had an ‘‘onandoff relationship’’ since 2012, and at the time of the assault were living separately.

He had suffered concussion symptoms after the assault, and saw a doctor about them.

Judge Farnan and noted there was evidence from a doctor that the victim suffered concussion.

She was satisfied Barrow had used a bottle to assault the victim, not cannabis leaf.

At yesterday’s sentencing, she ordered the defendant to undergo counselling and treatment for alcohol and mental health issues during her term of supervision.

She must pay the victim $100 reparation for the cost of his doctor visits.