Donna Ellis, 38 and her daughter Elisa Smith, 19, attacked a woman outside The Black Garter pub during a hen do celebration, leaving the victim with a fractured nose
Donna Ellis and Elisa Smith were sentenced
A bride-to-be has been jailed for fracturing a woman’s nose during her hen do celebration with her daughter. Donna Ellis and Elisa Smith had been drinking in the lead-up to Ellis’ nuptials.
The duo found themselves in Newcastle city centre, where the victim had been enjoying drinks with work colleagues at The Black Garter pub. Whilst having a cigarette outside, she overheard Ellis branding her daughter a s***, which left Smith upset.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the victim told her to walk away from her and Ellis reacted aggressively to this and squared up to her, gesturing for her to fight. The victim responded verbally and the situation escalated.
Ellis then landed a blow to her face before Smith seized hold of her and dragged her to the ground, where both women continuously struck and booted her until she became unconscious. The mother and daughter were subsequently seen launching punches and behaving aggressively towards other bystanders.
A betting shop window was shattered during the chaos, with the vicious altercation captured on CCTV, reports Chronicle Live.
Police officers reached the scene and detained the pair, with Ellis trying to headbutt a constable. The victim suffered breaks to her nose and septum, which was displaced. She needed a procedure to realign her fractured nose.
Smith told officers that her mother regularly turned violent when drunk and had branded her a s***, causing the victim to tell her not to speak to her in that manner, which resulted in the situation escalating dramatically. In a victim impact statement, the woman described being left with persistent headaches after the punching and stamping to her head, and now experiences terror in crowded spaces and around sudden loud sounds.
She said: “I’m petrified this might happen again.”
She shared her dread of confrontation, suffering panic attacks, and highlighted the effect on her employment as a support worker for people with mental health conditions.
Ellis, 38, who has 103 previous convictions, and Smith, 19, with no prior convictions, both living at Killingworth Avenue, Backworth, North Tyneside, admitted assault and affray. Ellis also pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker on that occasion and another separate incident.
Ellis was handed a 29-month prison sentence, whilst Smith received a 13-month sentence suspended for 18 months alongside 200 hours of unpaid work.
Recorder Richard Stubbs branded it an “episode of mindless violence”, saying: “This was a prolonged and persistent assault, including punches and kicks whilst she was on the floor and, potentially, continuing after she lost consciousness.”
Mark Harrison, acting on behalf of Ellis, stated that she regrets her actions, has no recollection of making any offensive comments to her daughter, and sees the video of the ensuing violence as a “source of shame to her”. He pointed out that she also suffered injuries in the incident, including a bleeding facial wound.
Matthew Purves, representing Smith, drew attention to her difficult upbringing but noted that she had since obtained qualifications and secured employment. Speaking about the day of the offences, he said: “It should have been nothing but a joyous event.”
#Bridetobes #hen #hell #woman #left #unconscious #shes #comment
