It was meant to be a fun night at the pub in celebration of Halloween – costumes and all.
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But the fake blood that spattered Victoria Marie Caligari’s nurse outfit at the start of the evening would take a backseat to the real thing before the night was out.
Thoroughly drunk after downing a large amount of alcohol, Caligari remembers little of what occurred – fortunately CCTV footage captures the entire incident.
The footage shows Caligari and male friend drinking at the Albion Park Hotel on November 1 last year when the victim approaches them and begins talking to the pair.
The conversation appears friendly, even after the victim spills his drink over Caligari, apparently by mistake.
The victim picks up some paper towel and begins wiping Caligari’s arms and costume, prompting Caligari to push the towel away in an apparently playful manner. The pair then go back to drinking with Caligari’s friend.
However, about half a minute later, Caligari spontaneously picks up a glass in front of her and throws it at the victim’s face.
The glass leaves a large gash on the man’s forehead, although he is unaware of the injury for several seconds.
Caligari’s friends then usher her out of the pub.
Police documents detailing the incident said the victim was taken to hospital, where doctors removed a piece of glass still lodged in the cut before stitching the wound closed.
Caligari was subsequently charged with reckless wounding, to which she pleaded guilty.
Facing Wollongong District Court for sentencing on Friday, Caligari admitted to the court through her lawyer that she had been a binge drinker at the time of the incident, however said she’d since “completely given up alcohol”.
“She’s shocked by her behaviour on the night,” defence barrister Carolyn Davenport SC said.
Judge Andrew Haesler accepted that Caligari’s had been drunk at the time, but said it was no excuse.
”While the court recognises that alcohol can help explain why someone who is an otherwise upstanding member of the community could commit such an offence….it is not an excuse,” he said.
“The use of glass as a weapon, particularly in licensed premises, can not and will not be tolerated.”
However, Judge Haesler agreed to suspend Caligari’s 22-month prison sentence on account of her own rehabilitation efforts.
“It’s clear some of her fiends supported her in her heavy drinking...with the help of a new relationship and waking up to herself as a result of this serious crime she has changed her ways and stopped drinking alcohol,” he said.
